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THE  TAMING  OF   PEGASUS. 


YOUNG  FOLKS'  HISTORY 


OF 


GREECE 


BY 

CHARLOTTE    M.    YONGE, 

Author  of  "The  Heir  of  Redclyffe,"  "Little  Lucy's 

Wonderful  Globe,"  "Book  of  Golden  Deeds," 

"Young  Folks'   History  of  Germany," 

"Rome,"  "England,"  "France." 


BOSTON: 
D.  LOTHROP  AND  COMPANY, 

FRANKLIN   ST.,   CORNER  OF   HAWLEY. 


COPYRIGHT   BY 

D.    LOTHROP    &    CO. 

1878. 


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PREFACE. 


IN  this  book  the  attempt  has  been  to  trace  Greek 
History  so  as  to  be  intelligible  to  children. 
In  fact,  it  will  generally  be  found  that  classical  his- 
tory is  remembered  at  an  earlier  age  than  modern 
history,  probably  because  the  events  are  simple, 
and  there  was  something  childlike  in  the  nature  of 
all  the  ancient  Greeks.  I  would  begin  a  child's 
reading  with  the  History  of  England,  as  that  which 
requires  to  be  known  best ;  but  from  this  I  should 
think  it  better  to  pass  to  the  History  of  Greece,  and 
that  of  Rome,  both  because  of  their  giving  some  idea 
of  the  course  of  time,  and  bringing  Scripture  history 
into  connection  with  that  of  the  world,  and  because 

v. 


M69933 


vi.  Preface. 

little  boys  ought  not  to  begin  their  classical  studies 
without  some  idea  of  their  bearing.  I  have  begun 
with  a  few  of  the  Greek  myths,  which  are  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  the  understanding  of  both  the 
history  and  of  art.  As  to  the  names,  the  ordinary 
reading  of  them  has  been  most  frequently  adopted, 
and  the  common  Latin  titles  of  the  gods  and  god- 
desses have  been  used,  because  these,  by  long  use, 
have  really  come  to  be  their  English  names,  and 
English  literature  at  least  will  be  better  understood 
by  calling  the  king  of  Olympus  Jupiter,  than  by 
becoming  familiar  with  him  first  as  Zeus. 

CHARLOTTE  M.  YONGE. 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter.  Page. 

i. — Olympus       13 

2. — Light  and  Dark 21 

3. — The  Peopling  of  Greece 29 

4. — The  Hero  Perseus       ........     38 

5. — The  Labors  of  Hercules 46 

6. — The  Argonauts        58 

7. — The  Success  of  the  Argonauts  ....     68 

8. — The  Choice  of  Paris 81 

9. — The  Siege  of  Troy 90 

10. — The  Wanderings  of  Ulysses 101 

11. — The  Doom  of  the  Atrides       114 

12. — After  the  Heroic  Age 123 

13. — Lycurgus  and  the  Laws  of  Sparta,     b.  c. 

884—668 135 

14. — Solon  and  the  Laws  of  Athens,    b.c.  594 — 

546 .144 

vii. 


viii.  Contents, 

15. plsistratus  and  his  sons.     b.c.  558 499  .  1 55 

16. — The  Battle  of  Marathon,     b.c.  490.    .     .164 

17. — The  Expedition  of  Xerxes,     b.c.  480  .     .175 

18. — The  Battle  of  Plat^ea.     b.c.  479 — 460      .   187 

19. — The  Age  of  Pericles,     b.c.  464 — 429    .     .  196 

20. — The  Expedition  to  Sicily,     b.c.  415 — 413.  205 

ax. — The  Shore  of  the  Goat's  River,     b.c.  406 

— 402 .' 214 

22. — The  Retreat  of  the  Ten  Thousand,     b.c. 

402 — 399 222 

23. — The  Death  of    Socrates,     b.c.  399    .     .     .  232 

24. — The  Supremacy  of  Sparta,     b.c.  396     .     .  242 

25. — The  Two  Theban  Friends,     b.c.  387 — 362.  250 

26. — Philip  of  Macedon.     b.c.  364 260 

27. — The  Youth  of  Alexander,     b.c.  356 — 334.  270 

28. — The  Expedition  to  Persia,     b.c.  334    .     .279 

29. — Alexander's  Eastern  Conquests,     b.c.  331 

— 328 292 

30. — The  End  oe  Alexander,     b.c.  328    .     .     .  305 

31. — The  Last  Struggles  of  Athens,     b.c.  334 

— 311 3*3 

32. — The  Four  New  Kingdoms,  b.c.  311 — 287  .  320 
$3. — Pyrrhus,  King  of  Epirus.  b.c.  287  .  .  .  330 
34. — Aratus  and  the  Achaian  League,  b.c.  267.  338 
35. — Agis  and  the  Revival  of  Sparta,     b.c.  244 

—236 345 


Contents.  ix. 

36. — Cleomenes  and  the  Fall  of  Sparta,    b.c.   - 

236—222 353 

37. — Philopcemen,   the    Last  of    the    Greeks. 

b.c.  236 — 184 361 

38. — The  Fall  of  Greece,     b.c.  189 — 146     .     .  368 

39. — The  Gospel  in  Greece,     b.c.  146 — a.d.  60.     375 

40. — Under  the  Roman  Empire       383 

41. — The  Frank  Conquest.     1201 — 1446  .     .     .  390 

42. — The  Turkish  Conquest.     1453 — 1670         .  398 

43. — The  Venetian  Conquest  and  Loss.    1684 — 

1796 408 

44. — The  War  of  Independence.     1815    .     .     .415 

45. — The  Kingdom  of  Greece.     1822 — 1875      •  423 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  Taming  of  Pegasus 

Frontispiece. 

Page. 

Mount  Olympus    . 

•          J3 

Head  of  Jupiter 

16 

Head  of  Pallas      . 

24 

Pandora        .... 

3° 

Mars  and  Victory 

37 

The  Choice  of  Hercules 

47 

Hercules  and  the  Lion 

5° 

Hercules  and  the  Hydra 

51 

Theseus  and  the  Minotaur 

61 

The  Golden  Fleece  Won 

69 

Greek  Ship 

87 

Hector  and  Andromache 

91 

The  Laocoon 

99 

Ulysses  Tied  to  the  Mast 

107 

Ulysses  Bends  his  Bow 

109 

Diagoras  and  his  Sons 

127 

Greek  Interior 

130 

Greek  Robe 

•     131 

Male  Costume 

.     132 

A  Funeral  Feast 

•     i34 

Crcesus  before  Cyrus     . 

•     '53 

List  of  Illustrations 


Aristides  and  the  Countryman 

.     171 

Pass  of  Thermopylae    .         .         . 

_  • 

.     179 

Ephialtes  Landing  the  Persians    . 

.     181 

Persian  Soldier    .         .         .         . 

.     188 

The  Academic  Grove,  Athens 

.     206 

The  Zab  among  the  Mountains 

.     225 

Socrates        .... 

•     233 

Plato 

.     237 

The  Death  of  Socrates 

.     239 

The  Death  of  Epaminondas 

•     257 

Demosthenes  and  the  Cup  of  Gol< 

I 

.     267 

Diana  of  Ephesus 

.     271 

Alexander     . 

.     276 

Alexander  the  Great    . 

.     280 

Tyre     . 

.         •     285 

Gaza     . 

.     287 

Jerusalem 

.     289 

Temple  of  Ammon 

.     293 

Ruins  of  Egypt    . 

•     295 

Princes  of  Persia 

.     298 

Sepulchers  of  the  Kings 

•     301 

Timoleon  and  Timophanes 

.     321 

Macedonian  Soldier 

•     325 

Alexandria   . 

.     328 

Agis     . 

•     346 

The  Forum  at  Rome 

.     384 

Mount  Helicon     . 

•     396 

Constantinople 

•    399 

Antioch 

.     406 

XI. 


MOUNT   OLYMPUS 


YOUNG  FOLKS'  HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


-«♦*- 


CHAPTER    I. 


OLYMPUS. 


AM  going  to  tell  you  the  history  of  the  most 

-*■     wonderful  people  who  ever  lived.     But  I  have 

to  begin  with  a  good  deal  that  is  not  true  ;  for  the 

people  who  descended   from    Japhet's  son  Javan, 

and  lived  in  the  beautiful   islands  and  peninsulas 
13 


14  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

called  Greece,  were  not  trained  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  God  like  the  Israelites,  but  had  to  guess  for 
themselves.  They  made  strange  stories,  partly 
from  the  old  beliefs  they  brought  from  the  east, 
partly  from  their  ways  of  speaking  of  the  powers 
of  nature  —  sky,  sun,  moon,  stars,  and  clouds  —  as 
if  they  were  real  beings,  and  so  again  of  good  or 
bad  qualities  as  beings  also,  and  partly  from  old 
stories  about  their  forefathers.  These  stories  got 
mixed  up  with  their  belief,  and  came  to  be  part  of 
their  religion  and  history ;  and  they  wrote  beautiful 
poems  about  them,  and  made  such  lovely  statues  in 
their  •lioi^i',. , thai  nobody  can  understand  anything 
about  art  or  learning  who  has  not  learnt  these 
stories.  I  rqust  begin  with  trying  to  tell  you  a  few 
of  them. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Greeks  thought  there  were 
twelve  greater  gods  and  goddesses  who  lived  in 
Olympus.  There  is  really  a  mountain  called  Olym- 
pus, and  those  who  lived  far  from  it  thought  it 
went  up  into  the  sky,  and  that  the  gods  really 
dwelt  on  the  top  of  it.  Those  who  lived  near,  and 
knew  they  did  not,  thought  they  lived  in  the  sky. 

But  the  chief  of  all,  the  father  of  gods  and  men, 
was  the  sky-god — Zeus,  as  the  Greeks  called  him, 
or  Jupiter,  as  he  was  called  in  Latin.     However, 


Olympus.  15 

as  all  things  are  born  of  Time,  so  the  sky  or  Jupiter 
was  said  to  have  a  father,  Time,  whose  Greek  name 
was  Kronos.  His  other  name  was  Saturn  ;  and  as 
Time  devours  his  offspring,  so  Saturn  was  said  to 
have  had  the  bad  habit  of  eating  up  his  children  as 
fast  as  they  were  born,  till  at  last  his  wife  Rhea  con- 
trived to  give  him  a  stone  in  swaddling  clothes,  and 
while  he  was  biting  this  hard  morsel,  Jupiter  was 
saved  from  him,  and  afterwards  two  other  sons,  Nep- 
tune (Poseidon)  and  Pluto  (Hades),  who  became 
lords  of  the  ocean  and  of  the  world  of  the  spirits  of 
the  dead ;  for  on  the  sea  and  on  death  Time's  tooth 
has  no  power.  However,  Saturn's  reign  was  thought 
to  have  been  a  very  peaceful  and  happy  one.  For 
as  people  always  think  of  the  days  of  Paradise,  and 
believe  that  the  days  of  old  were  better  than  their 
own  times,  so  the  Greeks  thought  there  had  been 
four  ages — the  Golden  age,  the  Silver  age,  the 
Brazen  age,  and  the  Iron  age — and  that  people 
had  been  getting  worse  in  each  of  them.  Poor  old 
Saturn,  after  the  Silver  age,  had  to  go  into  retire- 
ment, with  only  his  own  star,  the  planet  Saturn, 
left  to  him :  and  Jupiter  was  reigning  now,  on  his 
throne  on  Olympus,  at  the  head  of  the  twelve 
greater  gods  and  goddesses,  and  it  was  the  Iron 
age  down  below.     His  star,  the  planet  we  still  call 


16 


Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece, 


by  his  name,  was  much  larger  and  brighter  than 
Saturn.  Jupiter  was  always  thought  of  by  the 
Greeks  as  a  majestic-looking  man  in  his  full  strength, 
with  thick  hair  and  beard,  and  with  lightnings  in 
his  hand  and  an  eagle  by  his  side.     These  lightnings 


HEAD    OF  JUPITER. 


or  thunderbolts  were  forged  by  his  crooked  son 
Vulcan  (Hephsestion),  the  god  of  fire,  the  smith 
and  armorer  of  Olympus,  whose  smithies  were  in 
the   volcanoes    (so    called    from    his   name),   and 


Olympus.  17 

whose  workmen  were  the  Cyclops  or  Round  Eyes 
— giants,  each  with  one  e}re  in  the  middle  of  his 
forehead.  Once,  indeed,  Jupiter  had  needed  his 
bolts,  for  the  Titans,  a  horrible  race  of  monstrous 
giants,  of  whom  the  worst  was  Briar eus,  who  had  a 
hundred  hands,  had  tried,  by  piling  up  mountains 
one  upon  the  other,  to  scale  heaven  and  throw  him 
down ;  but  when  Jupiter  was  hardest  pressed,  a 
dreadful  pain  in  his  head  caused  him  to  bid  Vulcan 
to  strike  it  with  his  hammer.  Then  out  darted 
Heavenly  Wisdom,  his  beautiful  daughter  Pallas 
Athene  or  Minerva,  fully  armed,  with  piercing, 
shining  eyes,  and  by  her  counsels  he  cast  down  the 
Titans,  and  heaped  their  own  mountains,  Etna  and 
Ossa  and  Pelion,  on  them  to  keep  them  down ;  and 
whenever  there  was  an  earthquake,  it  was  thought 
to  be  caused  by  one  of  these  giants  struggling  to 
get  free,  though  perhaps  there  was  some  remem- 
brance of  the  tower  of  Babel  in  the  story.  Pallas, 
this  glorious  daughter  of  Jupiter,  was  wise,  brave, 
and  strong,  and  she  was  also  the  goddess  of 
women's  works — of  all  spinning,  weaving,  and 
sewing. 

Jupiter's  wife,  the  queen  of  heaven  or  the  air, 
was  Juno  —  in  Greek,  Hera  —  the  white-armed,  ox- 
eyed,  stately  lady,  whose   bird   was  the  peacock. 


18  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

Do  you  know  how  the  peacock  got  the  eyes  in  his 
tail  ?  They  once  belonged  to  Argus,  a  shepherd 
with  a  hundred  eyes,  whom  Juno  had  set  to  watch 
a  cow  named  Io,  who  was  really  a  lady,  much 
hated  by  her.  Argus  watched  till  Mercury  (Her- 
mes) came  and  lulled  him  to  sleep  with  soft  music, 
and  then  drove  Io  away.  Juno  was  so  angry,  that 
she  caused  all  the  eyes  to  be  taken  from  Argus  and 
put  into  her  peacock's  tail. 

Mercury  has  a  planet  called  after  him  too,  a  very 
small  one,  so  close  to  the  sun  that  we  only  see  it 
just  after  sunset  or  before  sunrise.  I  believe  Mer- 
cury or  Hermes  really  meant  the  morning  breeze. 
The  story  went  that  he  was  born  early  in  the 
morning  in  a  cave,  and  after  he  had  slept  a  little 
while  in  his  cradle,  he  came  forth,  and  finding  the 
shell  of  a  tortoise  with  some  strings  of  the  inwards 
stretched  across  it,  he  at  once  began  to  play  on  it, 
and  thus  formed  the  first  lyre.  He  was  so  swift 
that  he  was  the  messenger  of  Jupiter,  and  he  is  al- 
ways represented  with  wings  on  his  cap  and  san- 
dals ;  but  as  the  wind  not  only  makes  music,  but 
blows  tilings  away  unawares,  so  Mercury  came  to 
be  viewed  not  only  as  the  god  of  fair  speech,  but 
as  a  terrible  thief,  and  the  god  of  thieves.  You 
see,  as  long  as  these  Greek  stories  are  parables, 


Olympus.  19 

they  are  grand  and  beautiful ;  but  when  the  beings 
are  looked  on  as  like  men,  they  are  absurd  and 
often  horrid.  The  gods  had  another  messenger, 
Iris,  the  rainbow,  who  always  carried  messages  of 
mercy,  a  recollection  of  the  bow  in  the  clouds  ;  but 
she  chiefly  belonged  to  Juno. 

All  the  twelve  greater  gods  had  palaces  on 
Olympus,  and  met  every  day  in  Jupiter's  hall  to 
feast  on  ambrosia,  a  sort  of  food  of  life  which  made 
them  immortal.  Their  drink  was  nectar,  which 
was  poured  into  their  golden  cups  at  first  by  Vul- 
can, but  he  stumbled  and  hobbled  so  with  his  lame 
leg  that  they  chose  instead  the  fresh  and  graceful 
Hebe,  the  goddess  of  youth,  till  she  was  careless, 
and  one  day  fell  down,  cup  and  nectar  and  all. 
The  gods  thought  they  must  find  another  cup- 
bearer, and  looking  down,  they  saw  a  beautiful 
youth  named  Ganymede  watching  his  flocks  upon 
Mount  Ida.  So  they  sent  Jupiter's  eagle  down  to 
fly  away  with  him  and  bring  him  up  to  Olympus. 
They  gave  him  some  ambrosia  to  make  him  immor- 
tal, and  established  him  as  their  cupbearer.  Be- 
sides this,  the  gods  were  thought  to  feed  on  the 
smoke  and  srnell  of  the  sacrifices  people  offered  up 
to  them  on  earth,  and  always  to  help  those  who 
offered  them  most  sacrifices  of  animals  and  incense. 


20  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

The  usual  names  of  these  twelve  were  —  Jupiter, 
Neptune,  Juno,  Latona,  Apollo,  Diana,  Pallas, 
Venus,  Vulcan,  Mercury,  Vesta,  and  Ceres  ;  but 
there  were  multitudes  besides  —  "  gods  many  and 
lords  many"  of  all  sorts  of  different  dignities. 
Every  river  had  its  god,  every  mountain  and  wood 
was  full  of  nymphs,  and  there  was  a  great  god  01 
all  nature  called  Pan,  which  in  Greek  means  All. 
Neptune  was  only  a  visitor  in  Olympus,  though  he 
had  a  right  there.  His  kingdom  was  the  sea, 
which  he  ruled  with  his  trident,  and  where  he  had 
a  whole  world  of  lesser  gods  and  nymphs,  tritons 
and  sea  horses,  to  attend  upon  his  chariot. 

And  the  quietest  and  best  of  all  the  goddesses 
was  Vesta,  the  goddess  of  the  household  hearth  — 
of  home,  that  is  to  say.  There  are  no  stories  to  be 
told  about  her,  but  a  fire  was  always  kept  burning 
in  her  honor  in  each  city,  and  no  one  might  tend  it 
who  was  not  good  and  pure. 


CHAPTER   II. 


LIGHT    AND    DARK. 


THE  god  and  goddess  of  light  were  the  glorious 
twin  brother  and  sister,  Phoebus  Apollo  and 
Diana  or  Artemis.  They  were  born  in  the  isle  of 
Delos,  which  was  caused  to  rise  out  of  the  sea  to 
save  their  mother,  Latona,  from  the  horrid  serpent, 
Python,  who  wanted  to  devour  her.  Gods  were 
born  strong  and  mighty ;  and  the  first  thing  Apollo 
did  was  to  slay  the  serpent  at  Delphi  with  his 
arrows.  Here  was  a  dim  remembrance  of  the 
promise  that  the  Seed  of  the  woman  should  bruise 
the  serpent's  head,  and  also  a  thought  of  the  way 
Light  slays  the  dragon  of  darkness  with  his  beams. 
Apollo  was  lord  of  the  day,  and  Diana  queen  of 
the  night.  They  were  as  bright  and  pure  as  the 
thought  of  man  could  make  them,  and  always 
young.      The   beams    or   rays   were  their   arrows, 

21 


22  Young  Folks'  History  of  Crreece. 

and  so  Diana  was  a  huntress,  always  in  the  woods 
with  her  nymphs;  and  she  was  so  modest,  that 
once,  when  an  unfortunate  wanderer,  named  Ac- 
tseon,  came  on  her  with  her  nymphs  by  chance 
when  they  were  bathing  in  a  stream,  she  splashed 
some  water  in  his  face  and  turned  him  into  a  stag, 
so  that  his  own  dogs  gave  chase  to  him  and  killed 
him.  I  am  afraid  Apollo  and  Diana  were  rather 
cruel ;  but  the  darting  rays  of  the  sun  and  moon 
kill  sometimes  as  well  as  bless ;  and  so  they  were 
the  senders  of  all  s*harp,  sudden  strokes.  There 
was  a  queen  called  Niobe,  who  had  six  sons  and 
daughters  so  bright  and  fair  that  she  boasted  that 
they  were  equal  to  Apollo  and  Diana,  which 
made  Latona  so  angry,  that  she  sent  her  son  and 
daughter  to  slay  them  all  with  their  darts.  The 
unhappy  Niobe,  thus  punished  for  her  impiety, 
wept  a  river  of  tears  till  she  was  turned  into  stone. 
The  moon  belonged  to  Diana,  and  was  her  car ; 
the  sun,  in  like  manner,  to  Apollo,  though  he  did 
not  drive  the  car  himself,  but  Helios,  the  sun-god, 
did.  The  world  was  thought  to  be  a  flat  plate, 
with  Delphi  in  the  middle,  and  the  ocean  all  round. 
In  the  far  east  the  lady  dawn,  Aurora,  or  E6s, 
opened  the  gates  with  her  rosy  fingers,  and  out 
came  the  golden  car  of  the  sun,  with  glorious  white 


Light  and  Dark.  23 

horses  driven  by  Helios,  attended  by  the  Hours 
strewing  dew  and  flowers.  It  passed  over  the  arch 
of  the  heavens  to  the  ocean  again  on  the  west,  and 
there  Aurora  met  it  again  in  fair  colors,  took  out 
the  horses  and  let  them  feed.  Aurora  had  married 
a  man  named  Tithonus.  She  gave  him  ambrosia, 
which  made  him  immortal,  but  she  could  not  keep 
him  from  growing  old,  so  he  became  smaller  and 
smaller,  till  he  dwindled  into  a  grasshopper,  and  at 
last  only  his  voice  was  to  be  heard  chirping  at  sun- 
rise and  sunset. 

Helios  had  an  earthly  wife  too,  and  a  son  named 
Phaeton,  who  once  begged  to  be  allowed  to  drive 
the  chariot  of  the  sun  for  just  one  day.  Helios 
yielded;  but  poor  Phaeton  had  no  strength  nor 
skill  to  guide  the  horses  in  the  right  curve.  At 
one  moment  they  rushed  to  the  earth  and  scorched 
the  trees,  at  another  they  flew  up  to  heaven  and 
would  have  burnt  Olympus,  if  Jupiter  had  not  cast 
Ins  thunderbolts  at  the  rash  driver  and  hurled  him 
down  into  a  river,  where  he  was  drowned.  His 
sisters  wept  till  they  were  changed  into  poplar 
trees,  and  their  tears  hardened  into  amber  drops. 

Mercury  gave  his  lyre  to  Apollo,  who  was  the 
true  god  of  music  and  poetry,  and  under  him  were 
nine  nymphs — the  Muses,  daughters   of  memory 


24 


Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece 


— who  dwelt  on  Mount  Parnassus,  and  were 
thought  to  inspire  all  noble  and  heroic  song,  all 
poems  in  praise  to  or  of  the  gods  or  of  brave  men, 
and  the  graceful  music  and  dancing  at  their  feasts, 
also  the  knowledge  of  the  stars  of  earth  and  heaven. 

These  three — Apollo, 
Diana,  and  Pallas  — 
were  the  gods  of  all 
that  was  nobly,  purely, 
and  wisely  lovely ;  but 
the  Greeks  also  be- 
lieved in  powers  of  ill, 
and  there  was  a  god- 
dess of  beauty,  called 
Venus  (Aphrodite) . 
Such  beauty  was  hers 
as  is  the  mere  prettiness 
and  charm  of  pleasure 
— nothing  high  or  fine. 
She  was  said  to  have 
risen  out  of  the  sea,  as 
the  sunshine  touched  the  waves,  with  her  golden 
hair  dripping  with  the  spray  ;  and  her  favorite  home 
was  in  myrtle  groves,  where  she  drove  her  car, 
drawn  by  doves,  attended  by  the  three  Graces,  and 
by    multitudes   of  little    winged   children,    called 


HEAD    OF    PALLAS. 


Light  and  Dark.  25 

Loves;  but  there  was  generally  said  to  be  one 
special  son  of  hers,  called  Love  —  Cupid  in  Latin, 
Eros  in  Greek — whose  arrows  when  tipped  with 
gold,  made  people  fall  in  love,  and  when  tipped 
with  lead,  made  them  hate  one  another.  Her 
husband  was  the  ugly,  crooked  smith,  Vulcan — 
perhaps  because  pretty  ornaments  come  of  the  hard 
work  of  the  smith ;  but  she  never  behaved  well  to 
him,  and  only  coaxed  him  when  she  wanted  some- 
thing that  his  clever  hands  could  make. 

She  was  much  more  fond  of  amusing  herself  with 
Mars  (Ares),  the  god  of  war,  another  of  the  evil 
gods,  for  he  was  fierce,  cruel,  and  violent,  and 
where  he  went  slaughter  and  blood  were  sure  to 
follow  him  and  his  horrid  daughter  Bellona.  His 
star  was  "  the  red  planet  Mars ; "  but  Venus  had 
the  beautiful  clear  one,  which,  according  as  it  is 
seen  either  at  sunrise  or  sunset,  is  called  the  morn- 
ing or  evening  star.  Venus  also  loved  a  beautiful 
young  earthly  youth,  called  Adonis,  who  died  of  a 
thrust  from  a  wild  boar's  tusk,  while  his  blood 
stained  crimson  the  pretty  flower,  pheasant's  eye, 
which  is  still  called  Adonis.  Venus  was  so 
wretched  that  she  persuaded  Jupiter  to  decree 
that  Adonis  should  come  back  and  live  for  one-half 
of  the  year,  but  he  was  to   go   down   to   Pluto's 


26  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece, 

underground  kingdom  the  other  half.  This  is  be- 
cause plants  and  flowers  are  beautiful  for  one  year, 
die  down,  and  rise  again. 

But  there  is  a  much  prettier  story,  with  some- 
thing of  the  same  meaning,  about  Ceres  (Demeter), 
the  grave,  motherly  goddess  of  corn  and  all  the 
fruits  of  the  earth.  She  had  one  fair  daughter, 
named  Proserpine  (Persephone),  who  was  playing 
with  her  companions  near  Mount  Etna,  gathering 
flowers  in  the  meadows,  when  grim  old  Pluto 
pounced  upon  her  and  carried  her  off  into  his  under- 
ground world  to  be  his  bride.  Poor  Ceres  did  not 
know  what  had  become  of  her  darling,  and  wan- 
dered up  and  down  the  world  seeking  for  her,  tast- 
ing no  food  or  drink,  till  at  last,  quite  spent,  she 
was  taken  in  as  a  poor  woman  by  Celeus,  king  of 
Eleusis,  and  became  nurse  to  his  infant  child  Trip- 
tolemus.  All  Eleusis  was  made  rich  with  corn, 
while  no  rain  fell  and  no  crops  grew  on  the  rest  of 
the  earth ;  and  though  first  Iris  and  then  all  the 
gods  came  to  beg  Ceres  to  relent,  she  would  grant 
nothing  unless  she  had  her  daughter  back.  So 
Jupiter  sent  Mercury  to  bring  Proserpine  home ; 
but  she  was  only  to  be  allowed  to  stay  on  earth  on 
condition  that  she  had  eaten  nothing  while  in  the 
under  world.     Pluto   knowing  this   made  her  eat 


Light    and  Dark.  27 

half  a  pomegranate,  and  so  she  could  not  stay  with 
her  mother ;  but  Ceres's  tears  prevailed  so  far  that 
she  was  to  spend  the  summer  above  ground  and  the 
winter  below.  For  she  really  was  the  flowers  and 
fruit.  Ceres  had  grown  so  fond  of  little  Triptole- 
mus  that  she  wanted  to  make  him  immortal ;  but  as 
she  had  no  ambrosia,  this  could  only  be  done  by 
putting  him  on  the  fire  night  after  night  to  burn 
away  his  mortal  part.  His  mother  looked  in  one 
night  during  the  operation,  and  shrieked  so  that 
she  prevented  it ;  so  all  Ceres  could  do  for  him  was 
to  give  him  grains  of  wheat  and  a  dragon  car,  with 
which  he  traveled  all  about  the  world,  teaching 
men  to  sow  corn  and  reap  harvests. 

Proserpine  seems  to  have  been  contented  in  her 
underground  kingdom,  where  she  ruled  with  Pluto. 
It  was  supposed  to  be  below  the  volcanic  grounds 
in  southern  Italy,  near  Lake  Avernus.  The  en- 
trance to  it  was  guarded  by  a  three-headed  dog, 
named  Cerberus,  and  the  way  to  it  was  barred  by 
the  River  Styx.  Every  evening  Mercury  brought 
all  the  spirits  of  the  people  who  had  died  during 
the  day  to  the  shore  of  the  Styx,  and  if  their  funeral 
rites  had  been  properly  performed,  and  they  had  a 
little  coin  on  the  tongue  to  pay  the  fare,  Charon, 
the  ferryman,  took  them  across  ;  but  if  their  corpses 


28  Young  Folks'  History  of  G-reece. 

were  in  the  sea,  or  on  battle-fields,  unburied,  the 
poor  shades  had  to  flit  about  vainly  begging  to  be 
ferried  over.  After  they  had  crossed,  they  were 
judged  by  three  judges,  and  if  they  had  been 
wicked,  were  sent  over  the  river  of  fire  to  be  tor- 
mented by  the  three  Furies,  Alecto,  Megara,  and 
Tisiphone.  who  had  snakes  as  scourges  and  in  their 
hair.  If  they  had  been  brave  and  virtuous,  they 
were  allowed  to  live  among  beautiful  trees  and 
flowers  in  the  Elysian  fields,  where  Pluto  reigned  ; 
but  they  seem  always  to  have  longed  after  the  life 
they  had  lost ;  and  these  Greek  notions  of  bliss  seem 
sad  beside  what  we  know  to  be  the  truth.  Here, 
too,  lived  the  three  Fates,  always  spinning  the 
threads  of  men's  lives;  Clotho  held  the  distaff, 
Lachesis  drew  out  the  thread,  and  Atropos  with  her 
shears  cut  it  off  when  the  man  was  to  die.  And, 
though  Jupiter  was  mighty,  nothing  could  happen 
but  by  Fate,  which  was  stronger  than  he. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE   PEOPLING   OF   GREECE. 

YOU  remember  the  Titans  who  rebelled  against 
Jupiter.  There  was  one  who  was  noble, 
and  wise,  and  kind,  who  did  not  rebel,  and  kept 
his  brother  from  doing  so.  His  name  was  Prome- 
theus, which  means  Forethought ;  his  brother's  was 
Epimetheus,  Afterthought ;  their  father  was  Iape- 
tus.  When  all  the  other  Titans  had  been  buried 
under  the  rocks,  Jupiter  bade  Prometheus  mould 
men  out  of  the  mud,  and  call  on  the  winds  of 
heaven  to  breathe  life  into  them.  Then  Prome- 
theus loved  the  beings  he  had  made,  and  taught 
them  to  build  houses,  and  tame  the  animals,  and 
row  and  sail  on  the  sea,  and  study  the  stars.  But 
Zeus  was  afraid  they  would  be  too  mighty,  and 
would   not  give    them    fire.      Then    Prometheus 

29 


30 


Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 


climbed  the  skies,  and  brought  fire  down  for  them 
in  a  hollow  reed. 

The  gods  were  jealous,  and  thought  it  time  to 
stop  this.  So  Jupiter  bade  Vulcan  mould  a  woman 
out  of  clay,  and  Pallas  to  adorn  her  with  all  charms 
and  gifts,  so  that  she  was  called  Pandora,  or  All 
Gifts  ;  and  they  gave  her  a  casket,  into  which  they 
put  all  pains,  and  griefs,  and  woes,  and  ills,  and 
nothing  good  in  it  but  hope  ;  and  they  sent  her 
down  to  visit  the  two  Titan  brothers.  Prometheus 
knew  that  Jupiter  hated  them,  and  he  had  warned 
Epimetheus  not  to  take  any 
gifts  that  came  from  Olym- 
pus ;  but  he  was  gone  from 
home  when  Pandora  came  ; 
and  when  Epimetheus  saw 
how  lovely  she  was,  and 
heard  her  sweet  voice,  he 
was  won  over  to  trust  her, 
and  to  open  the  box.  Then 
out  flew  all  the  evils  and 
miseries  that  were  stored  in 
it,  and  began  to  torment 
poor  mankind  with  war,  and  sickness,  and  thirst, 
and  hunger,  and  nothing  good  was  left  but  hope  at 
the  bottom  of  the  box.     And  by-and-by  there  came 


The  Peopling  of  Greece.  31 

spirits,  called  Prayers,  but  they  were  lame,  coming 
after  evil,  because  people  are  so  apt  not  to  begin 
to  pray  till  harm  has  befallen  them. 

The  gods  undertook  also  to  accept  sacrifices, 
claiming  a  share  in  whatever  animal  man  slew. 
Prometheus  guarded  his  people  here  by  putting  the 
flesh  of  a  bullock  on  one  side,  and  the  bones  and 
inward  parts  covered  with  the  fat  on  the  other,  and 
bidding  Jupiter  choose  which  should  be  his.  The 
fat  looked  as  if  the  heap  it  covered  were  the  best, 
and  Jupiter  chose  that,  and  was  forced  to  abide  by 
his  choice  ;  so  that,  whenever  a  beast  was  killed 
for  food,  the  bones  and  fat  were  burnt  on  the  altar, 
and  man  had  the  flesh.  All  this  made  Jupiter  so 
angry,  that,  as  Prometheus  was  immortal  and  could 
not  be  killed,  he  chained  the  great,  good  Titan  to 
a  rock  on  Mount  Caucasus,  and  sent  an  eagle  con- 
tinually to  rend  his  side  and  tear  out  his  liver  as 
fast  as  it  grew  again ;  but  Prometheus,  in  all  his 
agony,  kept  hope,  for  he  knew  that  deliverance 
would  come  to  him ;  and,  in  the  meantime,  he  was 
still  the  comforter  and  counselor  of  all  who  found 
their  way  to  him. 

Men  grew  very  wicked,  owing  to  the  evils  in 
Pandora's  box,  and  Jupiter  resolved  to  drown  them 
all  with  a  flood ;  but  Prometheus,  knowing  it  be- 


32  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

forehand,  told  his  mortal  son  Deucalion  to  build 
a  ship  and  store  it  with  all  sorts  of  food.  In  it 
Deucalion  and  his  wife  Pyrrha  floated  about  for 
nine  days  till  all  men  had  been  drowned,  and  as  the 
waters  went  down  the  ship  rested  on  Mount  Par- 
nassus, and  Deucalion  and  Pyrrha  came  out  and 
offered  sacrifices  to  Jupiter.  He  was  appeased, 
and  sent  Mercury  down  to  ask  what  he  should 
grant  them.  Their  prayer  was  that  the  earth  might 
be  filled  again  with  people,  upon  which  the  god 
bade  them  walk  up  the  hill  and  throw  behind  them 
the  bones  of  their  grandmother.  Now  Earth  was 
said  to  be  the  mother  of  the  Titans,  so  the  bones  of 
their  grandmother  were  the  rocks,  so  as  they  went 
they  picked  up  stones  and  threw  them  over  their 
shoulders.  All  those  that  Deucalion  threw  rose  up 
as  men,  and  all  those  that  Pyrrha  threw  became 
women,  and  thus  the  earth  was  alive  again  with 
human  beings.  No  one  can  fail  to  see  what  far 
older  histories  must  have  been  brought  in  the  minds 
of  the  Greeks,  and  have  been  altered  into  these 
tales,  which  have  much  beauty  in  themselves.  The 
story  of  the  flood  seems  to  have  been  mixed  up 
with  some  small  later  inundation  which  only  affect- 
ed Greece. 

The  proper  old  name  of  Greece  was  Hellas,  and 


The  Peopling  of  Greece.  33 

the  people  whom  we  call  Greeks  called  themselves 
Hellenes.*  Learned  men  know  that  they,  like  all 
the  people  of  Europe,  and  also  the  Persians  and 
Hindoos,  sprang  from  one  great  family  of  the  sons 
of  Japhet,  called  Arians.  A  tribe  called  Pelasgi 
came  first,  and  lived  in  Asia  Minor,  Greece  and 
Italy ;  and  after  them  came  the  Hellenes,  who  were 
much  quicker  and  cleverer  than  the  Pelasgi,  and 
became  their  masters  in  most  of  Greece.  So  that 
the  people  we  call  Creeks  were  a  mixture  of  the 
two,  and  they  were  divided  into  three  lesser  tribes 
—  the  ^Eolians,  Dorians,  and  Ionians. 

Now  having  told  you  that  bit  of  truth,  I  will  go 
back  to  what  the  Greeks  thought.  They  said  that 
Deucalion  had  a  son  whose  name  was  Hellen,  and 
that  he  had  three  sons,  called  JEolus,  Dorus,  and 
Xuthus.  iEolus  was  the  father  of  the  ^Eolian 
Greeks,  and  some  in  after  times  thought  that  he 
was  the  same  with  the  god  called  ^Eolus,  who  was 
thought  to  live  in  the  Lipari  Islands ;  and  these 
keep  guard  over  the  spirits  of  the  winds  —  Boreas, 
the  rough,  lively  north  wind ;  Auster,  the  *  rainy 
south  wind;  Eurus,  the  bitter  east;  and  Zephyr, 
the  gentle  west.     He  kept  them  in  a  cave,  and  let 

*  "E"  and  "o"  marked  thus  (e)   (6)  are  pronounced  long,  as 
"  Ilelleens." 


34  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

one  out  according  to  the  way  the  wind  was  wanted 
to  blow,  or  if  there  was  to  be  a  storm  he  sent  out 
two  at  once  to  struggle,  and  fight,  and  roar  to- 
gether, and  lash  up  Neptune's  world,  the  sea.  The 
^Eolians  did  chiefly  live  in  the  islands  and  at  Co- 
rinth. One  of  the  sons  of  JEolus  turned  out  very 
badly,  and  cheated  Jupiter.  His  name  was  Sisy- 
phus, and  he  was  punished  in  Tartarus  —  Pluto's 
world  below  —  by  having  always  to  roll  a  stone  up 
a  mountain  so  steep  that  it  was  sure  to  come  down 
upon  him  again. 

Dorus  was,  of  course,  the  father  of  the  Dorians ; 
and  Xuthus  had  a  son,  called  I6n,  who  was  the 
father  of  the  Ionians.  But,  besides  all  these,  there 
was  a  story  of  two  brothers,  named  iEgyptus  and 
Danaus,  one  of  whom  settled  in  Egypt,  and  the 
other  in  Argos.  One  had  fifty  sons  and  the  other 
fifty  daughters,  and  ^Egyptus  decreed  that  they 
should  all  marry ;  but  Danaus  and  his  daughters 
hated  their  cousins,  and  the  father  gave  each  bride 
a  dagger,  with  which  she  stabbed  her  bridegroom. 
Only  one  had  pity,  and  though  the  other  forty-nine 
were  not  punished  here,  yet,  when  they  died  and 
went  to  Tartarus,  they  did  not  escape,  but  were 
obliged  to  be  for  ever  trying  to  carry  water  in  bot- 
tomless vessels.     The  people  of  Argos  called  them- 


The  Peopling  of  Greece.  35 

selves  Danai,  and   no  doubt  some  of  them  came 
from  Egypt. 

One  more  story,  and  a  very  strange  one,  tells  of 
the  peopling  of  Greece.  A  fair  lady  named  Eu- 
ropa,  was  playing  in  the  meadows  on  the  Phoeni- 
cian coast,  when  a  great  white  bull  came  to  her,  let 
his  horns  be  wreathed  with  flowers,  lay  down,  and 
invited  her  to  mount  his  back ;  but  no  sooner  had 
she  done  so,  than  he  rose  and  trotted  down  with 
her  to  the  sea,  and  swam  with  her  out  of  sight. 
He  took  her,  in  fact,  to  the  island  of  Crete,  where 
her  son  Minos  was  so  good  and  just  a  king,  that, 
when  he  died,  Pluto  appointed  him  and  two  others 
to  be  judges  of  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  Europe  was 
called  after  Europa,  as  the  loss  of  her  led  settlers 
there  from  Asia.  Europa's  family  grieved  for  her, 
and  her  father,  mother,  and  brother  went  every- 
where in  search  of  her.  Cadmus  was  the  name  of 
her  brother,  and  he  and  his  mother  went  far  and 
wide,  till  the  mother  died,  and  Cadmus  went  to 
Delphi  —  the  place  thought  to  be  the  centre  of  the 
earth  —  where  Apollo  had  slain  the  serpent  Python, 
and  where  he  had  a  temple  and  cavern  in  which 
every  question  could  be  answered.  Such  places  of 
divination  were  called  oracles,  and  Cadmus  was 
here  told  to  cease  from  seeking  his  sister,  and  to 


36  Young  Folks''  History  of  Greece. 

follow  a  cow  till  she  fell  down  with  fatigue,  and  to 
build  a  city  on  that  spot.  The  poor  cow  went  till 
she  came  into  Bceotia,  and  there  fell.  Cadmus 
meant  to  offer  her  up,  and  went  to  fetch  water  from 
a  fountain  near,  but  as  he  stooped  a  fierce  dragon 
rushed  on  him.  He  had  a  hard  fight  to  kill  it,  but 
Pallas  shone  out  in  her  beauty  on  him,  and  bade 
him  sow  its  teeth  in  the  ground.  He  did  so,  and 
they  sprung  up  as  warriors,  who  at  once  began  to 
fight,  and  killed  one  another,  all  but  five,  who 
made  friends,  and  helped  Cadmus  to  build  the 
famous  city  called  Thebes.  It  is  strange,  after  so 
wild  a  story  as  this,  to  be  told  that  Cadmus  first 
taught  writing  in  Greece,  and  brought  the  alphabet 
of  sixteen  letters.  The  Greek  alphabet  was  really 
learnt  from  the  Phoenicians,  and  most  likely  the 
whole  is  a  curious  story  of  some  settlement  of  that 
eastern  people  in  Greece.  Most  likely  they  brought 
in  the  worship  of  the  wine-god,  Bacchus  (Dionysos), 
for  he  was  called  Cadmus's  grandson.  An  orphan 
at  first,  he  was  brought  up  by  the  nymphs  and 
Mercury,  and  then  became  a  great  conqueror,  going 
to  India,  and  Egypt,  and  everywhere,  carrying  the 
vine  and  teaching  the  use  of  wine.  He  was  at- 
tended by  an  old  fat  man,  named  Silenus,  and  by 
creatures,  called  Fauns  and  Satyrs,  like  men  with 


The  Peopling  of  Greece.  37 

goats'  ears  and  legs ;  his  crown  was  of  ivy,  and  his 
chariot  was  drawn  by  leopards,  and  he  was  at  last 
raised  to  Olympus.  His  feasts  were  called  orgies  ; 
he-goats  were  sacrificed  at  them,  and  songs  were 
sung,  after  which  there  was  much  drinking,  and 
people  danced  holding  sticks  wreathed  with  vine 
and  ivy  leaves.  The  women  who  danced  were 
called  Bacchanals.  The  better  sort  of  Greeks  at 
first  would  not  adopt  these  shameful  rites.  There 
were  horrid  stories  of  women  who  refused  them 
going  mad  and  leaping  into  the  sea,  and  the  Bac- 
chanals used  to  fall  upon  and  destroy  all  who  re- 
sisted them. 


MARS   AND   VICTORY. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


THE     HERO     PERSEUS. 


A  HERO  means  a  great  and  glorious  man,  and 
the  Greeks  thought  that  they  had  many 
such  among  their  forefathers — nay,  that  they  were 
sons  of  gods,  and  themselves,  after  many  trials 
and  troubles,  became  gods,  since  these  Greeks  of 
old  felt  that  "we  are  also  His  offspring." 

Here  is  a  story  of  one  of  these  heroes.  His 
mother  was  the  daughter  of  an  Argive  king,  and 
was  named  Danae.  He  was  named  Perseus,  and 
had  bright  eyes  and  golden  hair  like  the  morning. 
When  he  was  a  little  babe,  he  and  his  mother  were 
out  at  sea,  and  were  cast  on  the  isle  of  Seriphos, 
where  a  fisherman  named  Dictys  took  care  of  them. 
A  cruel  tyrant  named  Polydectes  wanted  Danae  to 
be  his  wife,  and,  as  she  would  not  consent,  he  shut 

her  up  in  prison,  saying  that  she  should  never  come 

38 


The  Hero  Perseus.  89 

out  till  her  son  Perseus  had  brought  him  the  head 
of  the  Gorgon  Medusa,  thinking  he  must  be  lost  by 
the  way.  For  the  Gorgons  were  three  terrible 
sisters,  who  lived  in  the  far  west  beyond  the  setting 
sun.  Two  of  them  were  immortal,  and  had 
dragon's  wings  and  brazen  claws  and  serpent  hair, 
but  their  sister  Medusa  was  mortal,  and  so  beautiful 
in  the  face  that  she  had  boasted  of  being  fairer  than 
Pallas.  To  punish  her  presumption,  her  hair  was 
turned  to  serpents,  and  whosoever  looked  on  her 
face,  sad  and  lovely  as  it  was,  would  instantly  be 
turned  into  stone. 

But,  for. his  mother's  sake,  young  Perseus  was 
resolved  to  dare  this  terrible  adventure,  and  his 
bravery  brought  help  from  the  gods.  The  last 
night  before  he  was  to  set  out  Pallas  came  and 
showed  him  the  images  of  the  three  Gorgons,  and 
bade  him  not  concern  himself  about  the  two  he 
could  not  kill ;  but  she  gave .  him  a  mirror  of 
polished  brass,  and  told  him  only  to  look  at 
Medusa's  reflection  on  it,  for  he  would  become  a 
stone  if  he  beheld  her  real  self.  Then  Mercury 
came  and  gave  Perseus  a  sword  of  light  that  would 
cleave  all  on  whom  it  might  fall,  lent  him  his  own 
winged   sandals,  and  told   him  to   go  first  to  the 


40  Young  .Folks?  History  of  Greece. 

nymphs  of  the  Graise,  the  Gorgons'  sisters,  and 
make  them  tell  him  the  way. 

So  the  young  hero  went  by  land  and  sea,  still 
westwards,  to  the  very  borders  of  the  world,  where 
stands  the  giant  of  the  west,  Atlas,  holding  up  the 
great  vault  of  the  skies  on  his  broad  shoulders. 
Beyond  lay  the  dreary  land  of  twilight,  on  the 
shores  of  the  great  ocean  that  goes  round  the  world, 
and  on  the  rocks  on  the  shores  sat  the  three  old 
nymphs,  the  Graise,  who  had  been  born  with  grey 
hair,  and  had  but  one  eye  and  one  tooth  among 
them,  which  they  passed  to  one  another  in  turn. 
When  the  first  had  seen  the  noble-looking  youth 
speeding  to  them,  she  handed  her  eye  on,  that  the 
next  sister  might  look  at  him ;  but  Perseus  was  too 
quick — he  caught  the  one  eye  out  of  her  hand, 
and  then  told  the  three  poor  old  nymphs  that  he  did 
not  want  to  hurt  them,  but  that  he  must  keep  their 
eye  till  they  had  told  him  the  way  to  Medusa  the 
Gorgon. 

They  told  him  the  way,  and,  moreover,  they  gave 
him  a  mist-cap  helmet  from  Tartarus,  which  would 
make  him  invisible  whenever  he  put  it  on,  and  also 
a  bag,  which  he  slung  on  his  back  ;  and  thus  armed, 
he  went  further  to  the  very  bounds  of  the  world, 
and  he  took  his  mirror  in  his  hand,  and  looked  in  it. 


The  Hero  Perseus,  41 

There  he  saw  the  three  Gorgon  sisters,  their  necks 
covered  with  scales  like  those  of  snakes  (at  least 
those  of  two),  their  teeth  like  boar's  tusks,  their 
hands  like  brass,  and  their  wings  of  gold ;  but  they 
were  all  fast  asleep,  and  Perseus,  still  looking  into 
his  mirror,  cleft  Medusa's  neck  with  his  all-cutting 
sword,  and  put  her  head  into  the  bag  on  his  back 
without  ever  seeing  her  face.  Her  sisters  awoke 
and  darted  after  him ;  but  he  put  on  his  helmet  of 
mist,  and  they  lost  him,  while  he  fled  away  on 
Mercury's  swift-winged  sandals.  As  he  sped  east- 
ward, he  heard  a  voice  asking  whether  he  had  really 
killed  the  Gorgon.  It  was  Atlas,  the  old  heaven- 
supporting  giant;  and  when  Perseus  answered 
that  he  had,  Atlas  declared  that  he  must  see  the 
head  to  convince  him.  So  Perseus  put  a  hand  over 
his  shoulder,  and  drew  it  up  by  its  snaky  hair ;  but 
no  sooner  had  Atlas  cast  his  eyes  on  it  than  he 
turned  into  a  mountain,  his  white  beard  and  hair 
becoming  the  snowy  peak,  and  his  garments  the 
woods  and  forests.  And  there  he  still  stands  on 
the  west  coast  of  Africa,  and  all  our  modern  map- 
books  are  named  after  him. 

But  Perseus'  adventures  were  not  over.  As  he 
flew  on  by  the  Lybian  coast  he  heard  a  sound  of 
wailing,  and  beheld  a  beautiful  maiden  chained  by 


42  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

her  hands  and  feet  to  a  rock.  He  asked  what  had 
led  her  to  this  sad  plight,  and  she  answered  that 
she  was  Andromeda,  the  daughter  of  Cepheus  and 
Cassiopeia,  king  and  queen  of  Ethiopia,  and  that 
her  mother  had  foolishly  boasted  that  she  was 
fairer  than  the  Nereids,  the  fifty  nymphs  who  are 
the  spirits  of  the  waves.  Neptune  was  so  much 
displeased  that  he  sent  a  flood  to  overflow  the  land, 
and  a  sea-monster  to  devour  the  people  and  cattle. 
In  an  oasis  or  isle  of  fertility  in  the  middle  of  the 
Lybian  desert  was  a  temple  of  Jupiter,  there  called 
Amnion,  and  the  Ethiopians  had  sent  there  to  ask 
what  to  do.  The  oracle  replied  that  the  evil  should 
cease  if  Andromeda  were  given  up  to  the  monster. 
Cepheus  had  been  obliged  to  yield  her  up  because 
of  the  outcries  of  the  people,  and  here  she  was 
waiting  to  be  devoured.  Perseus,  of  course,  was 
ready.  He  heard  the  monster  coming,  bade  An- 
dromeda close  her  eyes,  and  then  held  up  the 
Gorgon's  head.  In  an  instant  her  foe  had  become 
a  rock,  and  he  cleft  the  maiden's  chains,  brought 
her  back  to  her  father  and  mother,  who  gave  her  to 
him  in  marriage,  and  made  a  great  feast ;  but  here 
a  former  lover  of  hers  insulted  them  both  so  much, 
that  Perseus  was  forced  to  show  him  the  Gorgon's 
face,  and  turn  him  into  stone. 


The  Hero  Perseus.  43 

Then  Perseus,  with  Andromeda,  took  his  way  to 
Seriphos.  Indeed  it  was  high  time  that  he  should 
come  back,  for  Polydectes,  thinking  that  he  must 
long  ago  have  been  turned  into  a  rock  at  the  sight 
of  Medusa,  had  tried  to  take  Danae  by  force  to  be 
his  wife,  and  she  had  fled  into  a  temple,  where  no 
one  dared  to  touch  her,  since  it  was  always  be- 
lieved that  the  gods  punished  such  as  dragged 
suppliants  away  from  their  temples.  So  Perseus 
went  to  Polydectes,  who  was  in  the  midst  of  a 
feast,  and,  telling  him  that  his  bidding  was  done, 
held  up  the  head  of  Medusa,  and  of  course  the 
king  and  his  whole  court  turned  at  once  into  stone. 
Now  that  the  work  of  the  Gorgon's  head  was  done, 
Perseus  offered  it  to  Pallas,  who  placed  it  upon  her 
shield,  or,  as  it  is  always  called,  her  segis ;  and  he 
gave  back  the  sword  of  light,  cap  or  mist,  and 
winged  sandals  to  Mercury. 

After  this  he  returned  to  Argos,  and  there,  at  a 
game  of  quoits,  he  had  the  misfortune  to  throw  the 
quoit  the  wrong  way,  and  hit  his  grandfather,  the 
king,  so  as  to  kill  him.  Perseus  reigned  after- 
wards, and,  like  all  the  nobler  Greek  heroes,  kept 
out  the  worship  of  Bacchus  and  its  foul  orgies  from 
his  dominions ;  but  he  afterwards  exchanged  king- 
doms with   another   king,   and   built   the    city   of 


44  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

Tiryas.  He  lived  happily  with  Andromeda,  and 
had  a  great  many  children,  whose  descendants 
viewed  him  as  a  demi-god,  and  had  shrines  to  him, 
where  they  offered  incense  and  sacrifice ;  for  they 
thought  that  he  and  all  the  family  were  commemo- 
rated in  the  stars,  and  named  the  groups  after  them. 
You  may  find  them  all  in  the  north.  Andromeda 
is  a  great  square,  as  if  large  stars  marked  the 
rivets  of  her  chains  on  the  rock ;  Perseus,  a  long 
curved  cluster  of  bright  stars,  as  if  climbing  up  to 
deliver  her  ;  her  mother  Cassiopeia  like  a  bright  W, 
in  which  the  Greeks  traced  a  chair,  where  she  sat 
with  her  back  to  the  rest  to  punish  her  for  her 
boast.  Cepheus  is  there  too,  but  he  is  smaller,  and 
less  easy  to  find.  They  are  all  in  the  North,  round 
the  Great  Bear,  who  was  said  by  the  Greeks  to  be 
a  poor  lady  whom  Juno  had  turned  into  a  bear,  and 
who  was  almost  killed  unknoAvingly  by  her  own 
son  when  out  hunting.  He  is  the  Little  Bear,  with 
the  pole  star  in  his  tail,  and  she  is  the  Great  Bear, 
always  circling  round  him,  and,  as  the  Greeks  used 
to  say,  never  dipping  her  muzzle  into  the  ocean, 
because  she  is  so  far  north  that  she  never  sets. 

This  story  of  Perseus  is  a  very  old  one,  which  all 
nations  have  loved  to  tell,  though  with  different 
names.     You  will  be  amused  to  think  that  the  old 


The  Hero  Perseus. 


45 


Cornish  way  of  telling  it  is  found  in  "Jack  the 
Giant-Killer, "  who  had  seven-leagued  boots  and  a 
cap  of  mist,  and  delivered  fair  ladies  from  their 
cruel  foes. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  LABORS   OF  HERCULES. 

ONE  morning  Jupiter  boasted  among  the  gods 
in  Olympus  that  a  son  would  that  day  be 
born  in  the  line  of  Perseus,  who  would  rule  over 
all  the  Argives.  Juno  was  angry  and  jealous  at 
this,  and,  as  she  was  the  goddess  who  presided  over 
the  births  of  children,  she  contrived  to  hinder  the 
birth  of  the  child  he  intended  till  that  day  was 
over,  and  to  hasten  that  of  another  grandson  of 
the  great  Perseus.  This  child  was  named  Eurys- 
theus,  and,  as  he  had  been  born  on  the  right  day, 
Jupiter  was  forced  to  let  him  be  king  of  Argos, 
Sparta,  and  Mycense,  and  all  the  Dorian  race; 
while  the  boy  whom  he  had  meant  to  be  the  chief 
was  kept  in  subjection,  in  spite  of  having .  wonder- 
ful gifts   of  courage   and   strength,   and   a   kind, 

46 


THE   CHOICE   OF   HERCULES, 


The  Labors  of  Hercules.  49 

generous  nature,  that  always  was  ready  to  help  the 
weak  and  sorrowful. 

His  name  was  Alcides,  or  Hercules,  and  he  was 
so  strong  at  ten  months  old,  that,  with  his  own 
hands,  he  strangled  two  serpents  whom  Juno  sent 
to  devour  him  in  his  cradle.  He  was  bred  up  by 
Chiron,  the  chief  of  the  Centaurs,  a  wonderful  race 
of  beings,  who  had  horses'  bodies  as  far  as  the  fore- 
legs, but  where  the  neck  of  the  horse  would  begin 
had  human  breasts  and  shoulders,  with  arms  and 
heads.  Most  of  them  were  fierce  and  savage ;  but 
Chiron  was  very  wise  and  good,  and,  as  Jupiter 
made  him  immortal,  he  was  the  teacher  of  many  of 
the  great  Greek  heroes.  When  Hercules  was  about 
eighteen,  two  maidens  appeared  to  him — one  in  a 
simple  white  dress,  grave,  modest,  and  seemly ;  the 
other  scantily  clothed,  but  tricked  out  in  ornaments, 
with  a  flushed  face,  and  bold,  roving  eyes.  The 
first  told  him  that  she  was  Virtue,  and  that,  if  he 
would  follow  her,  she  would  lead  him  through 
many  hard  trials,  but  that  he  would  be  glorious  at 
last,  and  be  blest  among  the  gods.  The  other  was 
Vice,  and  she  tried  to  wile  him  by  a  smooth  life 
among  wine-cups  and  dances  and  flowers  and 
sports,  all  to  be  enjoyed  at  once.  But  the  choice 
of  Hercules  was  Virtue,  and  it  was  well  for  him ; 


50  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

for  Jupiter,  to  make  up  for  Juno's  cheat,  had  sworn 
that,  if  he  fulfilled  twelve  tasks  which  Emystheus 
should  put  upon  him,  he  should  be  declared  worthy 
of  being  raised  to  the  gods  at  his  death. 

Eurystheus  did  not  know  that  in  giving  these 
tasks  he  was  making  his  cousin  fulfil  his  course ; 
but  he  was  afraid  of  such  a  mighty  man,  and  hoped 
that  one  of  these  would  be  the  means  of  getting  rid 
of  him.  So  when  he  saw  Hercules  at  Argos,  with 
a  club  made  of  a  forest  tree  in  his  hand,  and  clad  in 
the  skin  of  a  lion  which  he  had  slain,  Eurystheus 
bade  him  go  and  kill  a  far  more  terrible  lion,  of 
giant  brood,  and   with  a  skin  that  could  not  be 

pierced,  which  dwelt  in  the 
valley  of  Nemea.  The 
fight  was  a  terrible  one; 
the  lion  could  not  be 
wounded,  and  Hercules 
was  forced  to  grapple  with 
it,  and  strangle  it  in  his 
arms.  He  lost  a  finger  in 
the  struggle,  but  at  last  the  beast  died  in  his  grasp, 
and  he  carried  it  out  on  his  back  to  Argos,  where 
Eurystheus  was  so  much  frightened  at  the  grim 
sight  that  he  fled  away  to  hide  himself,  and  com- 


The  Labors  of  Hercules. 


51 


manded  Hercules  not  to  bring  his  monsters  within 
the  gates  of  the  city. 

There  was  a  second  labor  ready  for  Hercules — 
namely,  the  destroying  a  serpent  with  nine  heads, 
called  Hydra,  whose  lair  was  the  marsh  of  Lerna. 
Hercules  went  to  the  battle,  and  managed  to  crush 
one  head  with  his  club,  but  that  moment  two 
sprang  up  in  its  place ;  moreover,  a  huge  crab  came 
out  of  the  swamp,  and  began  to  pinch  his  heels. 
Still  he  did  not  lose  heart,  but  calling  his  friend 
Iolaus,  he  bade  him  take  a  fire-brand  and  burn  the 
necks  as  fast  as  he  cut 
off  the  heads ;  and  thus 
at  last  they  killed  the 
creature,  and  Hercules 
dipped  his  arrows  in  its 
poisonous  blood,  so  that 
their  least  wound  be- 
came fatal.  Eurystheus 
said  that  it  had  not  been 
a  fair  victory,  since  Her- 
cules had  been  helped,  and  Juno  put  the  crab  into  the 
skies  as  the  constellation  Cancer ;  while  a  labor  to 
patience  was  next  devised  for  Hercules  —  namely, 
the  chasing  of  the  Arcadian  stag,  which  was  sacred 
to  Diana,  and  had  golden  horns  and  brazen  hoofs. 


52  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

Hercules  hunted  it  up  hill  and  down  dale  for  a 
whole  year,  and  when  at  last  he  caught  it,  he  got 
into  trouble  with  Apollo  and  Diana  about  it,  and 
had  hard  work  to  appease  them  ;  but  he  did  so  at 
last ;  and  for  his  fourth  labor  was  sent  to  catch 
alive  a  horrid  wild  boar  on  Mount  Erymanthus. 
He  followed  the  beast  through  a  deep  swamp, 
caught  it  in  a  net,  and  brought  it  to  Mycenae. 

The  fifth  task  was  a  curious  one.  Augeas,  king 
of  Elis,  had  immense  herds,  and  kept  his  stables 
and  cow-houses  in  a  frightful  state  of  filth,  and 
Eurystheus,  hoping  either  to  disgust  Hercules  or 
kill  him  by  the  unwholesomeness  of  the  work,  sent 
him  to  clean  them.  Hercules,  without  telling 
Augeas  it  was  his  appointed  task  offered  to  do  it 
if  he  were  repaid  the  tenth  of  the  herds,  and 
received  the  promise  on  oath.  Then  he  dug  a 
canal,  and  turned  the  water  of  two  rivers,  into  the 
stables,  so  as  effectually  to  cleanse  them ;  but  when 
Augeas  heard  it  was  his  task,  he  tried  to  cheat  him 
of  the  payment,  and  on  the  other  hand  Eurystheus 
said,  as  he  had  been  rewarded,  it  could  not  count 
as  one  of  his  labors,  and  ordered  him  off  to  clear 
the  woods  near  Lake  Stymphalis  of  some  horrible 
birds,  with  brazen  beaks  and  claws,  and  ready-madt 
arrows  for  feathers,  which  ate  human  flesh.     To 


The  Labors  of  Hercules.  53 

get  them  to  rise  out  of  the  forest  was  his  first  diffi- 
culty, but  Pallas  lent  Mm  a  brazen  clapper,  which 
made  them  take  to  their  wings ;  then  he  shot  them 
with  his  poisoned  arrows,  killed  many  and  drove 
the  rest  away. 

King  Minos  of  Crete  had  once  vowed  to  sacrifice 
to  the  gods  whatever  should  appear  from  the  sea. 
A  beautiful  white  bull  came,  so  fine  that  it  tempted 
him  not  to  keep  his  word,  and  he  was  punished  by 
the  bull  going  mad,  and  doing  all  sorts  of  damage 
in  Crete  ;  so  that  Eurystheus  thought  it  would  serve 
as  a  labor  for  Hercules  to  bring  the  animal  to 
My  cense.  In  due  time  back  came  the  hero,  with 
the  bull,  quite  subdued,  upon  his  shoulders ;  and,  hav- 
ing shown  it,  he  let  it  loose  again  to  run  about  Greece. 

He  had  a  harder  task  in  getting  the  mares  of  the 
Thracian  king,  Diomedes,  which  were  fed  on  man's 
flesh.  He  overcame  their  grooms,  and  drove  the 
beasts  away ;  but  he  was  overtaken  by  Diomedes, 
and,  while  fighting  with  him  and  his  people,  put  the 
mares  under  the  charge  of  a  friend  ;  but  when  the 
battle  was  over,  and  Diomedes  killed,  he  found  that 
they  had  eaten  up  their  keeper.  However,  when 
he  had  fed  them  on  the  dead  body  of  their  late 
master,  they  grew  mild  and  manageable  and  he 
brought  them  home. 


54  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece, 

The  next  expedition  was  against  the  Amazons,  a 
nation  of  women  warriors,  who  lived  somewhere  on 
the  banks  of  the  Euxine  or  Black  sea,  kept  their 
husbands  in  subjection,  and  seldom  brought  up  a 
son.  The  bravest  of  all  the  Amazons  was  the 
queen,  Hippolyta,  to  whom  Mars  had  given  a  belt 
as  a  reward  for  her  valor.  Eurystheus'  daughter 
wanted  this  belt,  and  Hercules  was  sent  to  fetch  it. 
He  was  so  hearty,  honest,  and  good-natured,  that 
he  talked  over  Hippolyta,  and  she  promised  him 
her  girdle ;  but  Juno,  to  make  mischief,  took  the 
form  of  an  Amazon,  and  persuaded  the  ladies  that 
their  queen  was  being  deluded  and  stolen  away  by 
a  strange  man,  so  they  mounted  their  horses  and 
came  down  to  rescue  her.  He  thought  she  had 
been  treacherous,  and  there  was  a  great  fight,  in 
which  he  killed  her,  and  carried  off  her  girdle. 

Far  out  in  the  west,  near  the  ocean  flowing  round 
the  world,  were  herds  of  purple  oxen,  guarded  by 
a  two-headed  dog,  and  belonging  to  a  giant  with 
three  bodies  called  Geryon,  who  lived  in  the  isle  of 
Erythria,  in  the  outmost  ocean.  Passing  Lybia, 
Hercules  came  to  the  end  of  the  Mediterranean 
Sea,  Neptune's  domain,  and  there  set  up  two  pillars 
—namely,  Mounts  Calpe  and  Abyla — on  each  side 
of  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar.     The  rays  of  the  sun 


The  Labors  of  Hercules.  55 

scorched  him,  and  in  wrath  he  shot  at  it  with  his 
arrows,  when  Helios,  instead  of  being  angry,  ad- 
mired his  boldness,  and  gave  him  his  golden  cup, 
wherewith  to  cross  the  outer  ocean,  which  he  did 
safely,  although  old  Oceanus,  who  was  king  there, 
put  up  his  hoary  head,  and  tried  to  frighten  him  by 
shaking  the  bowl.  It  was  large  enough  to  hold  all 
the  herd  of  oxen,  when  Hercules  had  killed  dog, 
herdsman,  and  giant,  and  he  returned  it  safely  to 
Helios  when  he  had  crossed  the  ocean.  The  oxen 
were  sacrificed  to  Juno,  Eurystheus'  friend. 

Again  Eurystheus  sent  Hercules  to  the  utmost 
parts  of  the  earth.  This  time  it  was  to  bring  home 
the  golden  apples  which  grew  in  the  gardens  of  the 
Hesperides,  the  daughters  of  old  Atlas,  who  dwelt 
in  the  land  of  Hesperus  the  Evening  Star,  and, 
together  with  a  dragon,  guarded  the  golden  tree  in 
a  beautiful  garden.  Hercules  made  a  long  journey, 
apparently  round  by  the  North,  and  on  his  way  had 
to  wrestle  with  a  dreadful  giant  named  Antseus. 
Though  thrown  down  over  and  over  again,  Antseus 
rose  up  twice  as  strong  every  time,  till  Hercules 
found  out  that  he  grew  in  force  whenever  he 
touched  his  mother  earth,  and  therefore,  lifting  him 
up  in  those  mightiest  of  arms,  the  hero  squeezed 
the  breath  out   of  him.     By-and-by   he    came   to 


56  Yovng  Folks*  History  of  Greece. 

Mount  Caucasus,  where  he  found  the  chained 
Prometheus,  and,  aiming  an  arrow  at  the  eagle, 
killed  the  tormentor,  and  set  the  Titan  free.  In 
return,  Prometheus  gave  him  much  good  counsel, 
and  indeed  seems  to  have  gone  with  him  to  Atlas, 
who,  according  to  this  story,  was  still  able  to  move, 
in  spite  of  the  petrifaction  by  Hercules'  grandfather. 
Atlas  undertook  to  go  to  his  daughters,  and  get  the 
apples,  if  Hercules  would  hold  up  the  skies  for  him 
in  the  meantime.  Hercules  agreed,  and  Atlas 
shifted  the  heavens  to  his  shoulders,  went,  and 
presently  returned  with  three  apples  of  gold,  but 
said  he  would  take  them  to  Eurystheus,  and  Her- 
cules must  continue  to  bear  the  load  of  the  skies. 
Prometheus  bade  Hercules  say  he  could  not  hold 
them  without  a  pad  for  them  to  rest  on  his  head. 
Atlas  took  them  again  to  hold  while  the  pad  was 
put  on;  and  thereupon  Hercules  picked  up  the 
apples,  and  left  the  old  giant  to  his  load. 

One  more  labor  remained — namely,  to  bring  up 
the  three-headed  watch-dog,  Cerberus,  from  the 
doors  of  Tartarus.  Mercury  and  Pallas  both  came 
to  attend  him,  and  led  him  alive  among  the  shades, 
who  all  fled  from  him,  except  Medusa  and  one 
brave  youth.  He  gave  them  the  blood  of  an  ox  to 
drink,  and  made  his  way  to  Pluto's  throne,  where 


The  Labors  of  Hercules.  57 

he  asked  leave  to  take  Cerberus  to  the  upper  world 
with  him.  Pluto  said  he  might,  if  he  could  overcome 
Cerberus  without  weapons ;  and  this  he  did,  strug- 
gling with  the  dog,  with  no  protection  but  the  lion's 
skin,  and  dragging  him  up  to  the  light,  where  the 
foam  that  fell  from  the  jaws  of  one  of  the  three 
mouths  produced  the  plant  called  aconite,  or  helle- 
bore, which  is  dark  and  poisonous.  After  showing 
the  beast  to  Eurystheus,  Hercules  safely  returned 
him  to  the  under  world,  and  thus  completed  his 
twelve  great  labors. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


THE     ARGONAUTS. 


"\7"OU  remember  that  Cadmus  founded  Thebes. 
■*■  One  of  his  daughters  was  named  Ino.  She 
married  a  son  of  king  JEolus,  who  had  been  married 
before,  and  had  two  children,  Phryxus  and  Helle. 
Ino  was  a  cruel  stepmother,  and  deceived  her  hus- 
band into  thinking  that  the  oracle  at  Delphi  re- 
quired him  to  sacrifice  his  son  to  Jupiter  ;  but  as 
the  poor  boy  stood  before  the  altar,  down  from  the 
skies  came  a  ram  with  a  golden  fleece,  which  took 
both  the  children  on  his  back,  and  fled  away  with 
them  over  land  and  sea ;  but  poor  Helle  let  go  in 
passing  the  narrow  strait  between  Asia  and  Europe, 
fell  into  the  sea,  and  was  drowned.  The  strait  was 
called  after  her,  the  Hellespont,  or  Helle's  Sea. 
Phryxus  came  safely  to  Colchis,  on  the  Black  Sea, 
and  was  kindly  received  by  ^Eetes,  the  king  of  the 


58 


The  Argonauts.  59 

country.  They  sacrificed  the  golden-wooled  ram  to 
Jupiter,  and  nailed  up  its  fleece  to  a  tree  in  the 
grove  of  Mars. 

Some  time  after,  Pelias,  the  usurping  .king  of 
Iolcus,  was  driving  a  mule-car  through  the  market- 
place, when  he  saw  a  fine  young  man,  with  hair 
flowing  on  his  shoulders,  two  spears  in  his  hand, 
and  only  one  sandal.  He  was  very  much  afraid,  for 
it  had  been  foretold  to  him  by  an  oracle  that  he 
would  be  slain  by  the  man  with  one  foot  bare. 
And  this  youth  was  really  Jason,  the  son  of  his 
brother  JEson,  from  whom  he  had  taken  the  king- 
dom. Fearing  that  he  would  kill  the  child,  iEson 
had  sent  it  away  to  the  cave  of  the  Centaur  Chiron, 
by  whom  Jason  had  been  bred  up,  and  had  now 
come  to  seek  his  fortune.  He  had  lost  his  shoe  in 
the  mud,  while  kindly  carrying  an  old  woman 
across  a  river,  little  knowing  that  she  was  really  the 
goddess  Juno,  who  had  come  down  in  that  form  to 
make  trial  of  the  kindness  of  men,  and  who  was 
thus  made  his  friend  for  ever.  Pelias  sent  for  the 
young  stranger  the  next  day,  and  asked  him  what 
he  would  do  if  he  knew  who  was  the  man  fated  to 
kill  him.  M I  should  send  him  to  fetch  the  Golden 
Fleece,"  said  Jason. 

"  Then  go  and  fetch  it,"  said  Pelias. 


60  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

Jason  thereupon  began  building  a  ship,  which  he 
called  Argo,  and  proclaimed  the  intended  expe- 
dition throughout  Greece,  thus  gathering  together 
all  the  most  famous  heroes  then  living,  most  of 
whom  had,  like  him,  been  brought  up  by  the  great 
Centaur  Chiron.  Hercules  was  one  of  them,  and 
another  was  Theseus,  the  great  hero  of  the  Ionian 
city  of  Athens,  whose  prowess  was  almost  equal  t6 
that  of  Hercules.  He  had  caught  and  killed  the 
great  white  bull  which  Hercules  had  brought  from 
Crete  and  let  loose,  and  he  had  also  destroyed  the 
horrid  robber  Procrustes  (the  Stretcher),  who  had 
kept  two  iron  bedsteads,  one  long  and  one  short. 
He  put  tall  men  into  the  short  bed,  and  cut  them 
down  to  fit  it,  and  short  men  into  the  long  bed, 
pulling  them  out  till  they  died,  until  Theseus  fin- 
ished his  life  on  one  of  his  own  beds. 

Another  deed  of  Theseus  was  in  Crete.  The 
great  white  bull  which  Minos  ought  to  have  sacri- 
ficed had  left  a  horrible  offspring,  a  monster  called 
the  Minotaur,  half  man  and  half  bull,  which  ate 
human  flesh,  and  did  horrible  harm,  till  a  clever 
artificer  named  Daedalus  made  a  dwelling  for  it 
called  the  Labyrinth,  approached  by  so  many  cross 
paths,  winding  in  and  out  in  a  maze,  that  every- 
one who  entered  it  was  sure  to  lose  himself ;  and 


THESEUS  AND  THE  MINOTAUR. 


The  Argonauts.  63 

the  Minotaur  could  never  get  out,  but  still  they  fed 
him  there ;  and  as  Athens  was  subject  to  Crete,  the 
people  were  required  to  send  every  year  a  tribute 
of  seven  youths  and  seven  maidens  for  the  Minotaur 
to  devour.  Theseus  offered  himself  to  be  one  of 
these,  telling  his  father  that  whereas  a  black  sail 
was  always  carried  by  the  ship  that  bore  these 
victims  to  their  death,  he  would,  if  he  succeeded  in 
killing  the  Minotaur,  as  he  hoped  to  do,  hoist  a 
white  one  when  coming  home.  When  he  reached 
Crete,  he  won  the  heart  of  Minos'  daughter  Ariadne, 
who  gave  him  a  skein  of  thread  :  by  unwinding  this 
as  he  went  he  would  leave  a  clue  behind  him,  bj 
which  he  could  find  his  way  out  of  the  labyrinth, 
after  killing  the  monster.  When  this  was  done,  by 
his  great  skill  and  strength,  he  took  ship  again,  and 
Ariadne  came  with  him  ;  but  he  grew  tired  of  her, 
and  left  her  behind  in  the  isle  of  Naxos,  where 
Bacchus  found  her  weeping,  consoled  her,  and 
gave  her  a  starry  crown,  which  may  be  seen  in  the 
sky  on  a  summer  night.  Theseus,  meantime,  went 
back  to  Athens,  but  he  had  forgotten  his  promise 
about  the  white  sail,  and  his  poor  old  father,  seeing 
the  black  one,  as  he  sat  watching  on  the  rocks 
thought  that  ill  news  was  coming,  fell  down,  and 
was  drowned,  just  as  Theseus  sailed  safely  into  port. 


64  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

Theseus  was  a  friend  of  Hercules,  had  been  with 
him  on  his  journey  to  the  land  of  the  Amazons,  and 
had  married  one  of  them  named  Antiope. 

Two  more  of  the  Argonauts  were  Castor  and 
Pollux,  the  twin  sons  of  Leda,  queen  of  Sparta. 
She  had  also  two  daughters,  named  Helen  and  Cly- 
temnestra,  and  Helen  was  growing  into  the  most 
beautiful  woman  in  the  world.  These  children,  in 
the  fable,  had  been  hatched  from  two  huge  swans' 
eggs ;  Castor  and  Clytemnestra  were  in  one  egg, 
and  Pollux  and  Helen  in  the  other.  Castor  and 
Pollux  were  the  most  loving  of  brothers,  and 
while  Castor  was  famous  for  horsemanship,  Pollux 
was  the  best  of  boxers.  They,  too,  had  been  pupils 
of  Chiron ;  so  was  Peleus  of  ^Egina,  who  had  wooed 
Thetis,  one  of  the  fifty  Nereids,  or  sea-nymphs, 
though  she  changed  herself  into  all  sorts  of  forms 
when  he  caught  her  first — fire,  water,  a  serpent, 
and  a  lioness ;  but  he  held  her  fast  through  all,  and 
at  last  she  listened  to  him,  and  all  the  gods  and 
goddesses  had  come  to  the  wedding  feast.  They 
had  one  son,  named  Achilles,  whom  Thetis  had 
tried  to  make  immortal  after  Ceres'  fashion,  by 
putting  him  on  the  fire  at  night ;  but,  like  Triptol- 
emus'  mother,  Peleus  had  cried  out  and  spoilt  the 
spell.     Then  she  took  the  boy  to  the  river  Styx, 


The  Argonauts.  65 

and  bathed  him  there,  so  that  he  became  invulner- 
able all  over,  except  in  the  heel  by  which  she  held 
him.  The  child  was  now  in  Chiron's  cave,  being 
fed  with  the  marrow  of  lions  and  bears,  to  make 
him  strong  and  brave. 

One  more  Argonaut  must  be  mentioned,  namely, 
the  minstrel  Orpheus.  He  was  the  son  of  the  muse 
Calliope,  and  was  looked  on  as  the  first  of  the 
many  glorious  singers  of  Greece,  who  taught  the 
noblest  and  best  lessons.  His  music,  when  he 
played  on  the  lyre,  was  so  sweet,  that  all  the  ani- 
mals, both  fierce  and  gentle,  came  round  to  hear  it ; 
and  not  only  these,  but  even  the  trees  and  rocks 
gathered  round,  entranced  by  the  sweetness. 

All  these  and  more,  to  the  number  of  fifty, 
joined  Jason  in  his  enterprise.  The  Argo,  the  ship 
which  bore  them,  had  fifty  oars,  and  in  the  keel 
was  a  piece  of  wood  from  the  great  oak  of  Dodona, 
which  could  speak  for  the  oracles.  When  all  was 
ready,  Jason  stood  on  the  poop,  and  poured  forth  a 
libation  from  a  golden  cup,  praying  aloud  to  Jupi- 
ter, to  the  Winds,  the  Days,  the  Nights,  and  to 
Fate  to  grant  them  a  favorable  voyage.  Old  Chiron 
came  down  from  his  hills  to  cheer  them,  and  pray 
for  their  return ;  and   as   the   oars   kept  measured 


66  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

time,  Orpheus  struck  his  lyre  in  tune  with  their 
splash  in  the  blue  waters. 

They  had  many  adventures.  After  passing  the 
Hellespont,  they  found  in  the  Propontis,  which  we 
call  the  Sea  of  Marmora,  an  islet  called  the  Bears' 
Hill,  inhabited  by  giants  with  six  arms,  whom  they 
slew. 

In  Mysia  a  youth  named  Hylas  went  ashore  to 
fetch  water,  l)ut  was  caught  by  the  nymphs  of  the 
stream  and  taken  captive.  Hercules,  hearing  his 
cry,  went  in  search  of  him,  and,  as  neither  returned, 
the  Argo  sailed  without  them.  No  more  was  heard 
of  Hylas,  but  Hercules  went  back  to  Argos. 

They  next  visited  Phineus,  a  wise  old  blind  king, 
who  was  tormented  by  horrid  birds  called  Harpies, 
with  women's  faces.  These  monsters  alwa}Ts  came 
down  when  he  was  going  to  eat,  devoured  the  food, 
and  spoilt  what  they  did  not  eat.  The  Argonauts 
having  among  them  tAvo  winged  sons  of  Boreas 
(the  north  wind),  hunted  these  horrible  creatures 
far  out  in  the  Mediterranean.  Phineus  then  told 
them  that  they  would  have  to  pass  between  some 
floating  rocks  called  the  Symplegacles,  which  were 
always  enveloped  in  mist,  were  often  driven  to- 
gether by  the  wind,  and  crushed  whatever  was 
between.     He  told  them  to  let  fly  a  dove,  and  if  it 


The  Argonauts.  67 

went  through  safely  they  might  follow.  They  did 
so,  and  the  dove  came  out  at  the  other  side,  but 
with  her  tail  clipped  off  as  the  rocks  met.  How- 
ever, on  went  the  Argo,  each  hero  rowing  for  his 
life,  and  Juno  and  Pallas  helping  them  ;  and,  after 
all,  they  were  but  just  in  time,  and  lost  the  orna- 
ments at  their  stern  !  Fate  had  decreed  that, when 
once  a  ship  passed  through  these  rocks  unhurt, 
they  should  become  fixed,  and  thus  they  were  no 
longer  dangerous.  It  does  not  seem  unlikely  that 
this  story  might  have  come  from  some  report  of  the 
dangers  of  icebergs.  Of  course  there  are  none  in  the 
Black  Sea,  but  the  Greeks,  who  knew  little  beyond 
their  own  shores,  seem  to  have  fancied  that  this 
was  open  to  the  north  into  the  great  surrounding 
ocean,  and  the  Phoenicians,  who  were  much  more 
adventurous  sailors  than  they,  may  have  brought 
home  histories  of  the  perils  they  met  in  the  At- 
lantic Ocean. 

The  Argonauts  had  one  more  encounter  with 
Hercules'  old  foes,  the  birds  of  Stymphalis,  and  af- 
ter this  safely  arrived  at  Colchis,  and  sailed  into 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Phasis,  from  which  it  is  said 
the  pheasant  takes  its  name. 


CHAPTER   VIT. 

THE    SUCCESS    OF   THE   ARGONAUTS. 

WHEN  Jason  arrived  at  Colchis,  he  sent  to 
King  iEetes  and  asked  of  him  the  Golden 
Fleece.  To  this  iEetes  replied  that  he  might  have 
it,  provided  he  could  yoke  the  two  brazen-footed 
bulls  with  flaming  breath,  which  had  been  a  present 
from  Vulcan,  and  with  them  plough  a  piece  of  land, 
and  sow  it  with  the  dragon's  teeth.  Pallas  had 
given  iEetes  half  the  teeth  of  the  dragon  of 
Thebes,  which  had  been  slain  by  Cadmus. 

The  task  seemed  beyond  his  reach,  till  Medea, 
the  wicked  witch,  daughter  of  ^Eetes,  promised 
to  help  him,  on  condition  that  he  would  marry 
her,  and  take  her  to  Greece.  When  Jason  had 
sworn  to  do  so,  Medea  gave  him  an  ointment  with 
which  to  rub  himself,  also  his  shield  and  spear. 
For  a  whole  day  afterwards    neither    sword    nor 


THE   GOLDEN    FLEECE   WON. 


The  Success  of  the  Argonauts.  71 

fire  should  hurt  him,  and  he  would  thus  be  able  to 
master  the  bulls.  So  he  found  it ;  he  made  them 
draw  the  plough,  and  then  he  sowed  the  teeth, 
which  came  up,  like  those  sown  by  Cadmus,  as 
armed  men,  who  began  to  attack  him  ;  but,  as  Me- 
dea had  bidden  him,  he  threw  a  stone  among  them, 
and  they  began  to  fight  with  one  another,  so  that 
he  could  easily  kill  the  few  who  spared  each  other. 

Still  jEetes  refused  to  give  him  the  fleece,  and 
was  about  to  set  fire  to  the  Argo,  and  kill  the  crew ; 
but  Medea  warned  Jason  in  time,  and  led  him 
to  the  spot  where  it  was  nailed  against  a  tree. 
Orpheus  lulled  the  guardian  dragon  to  sleep  with 
his  lyre,  while  Jason  took  down  the  fleece ;  and 
Medea  joined  them,  carrying  in  her  arms  her  little 
brother,  whom  she  had  snatched  from  his  bed  with 
a  cruel  purpose,  for  when  her  father  took  alarm 
and  gave  chase,  she  cut  the  poor  child  to  pieces, 
and  strewed  his  limbs  on  the  stream  of  the  Phasis, 
so  that,  while  her  father  waited  to  collect  them,  the 
Argo  had  time  to  sail  away. 

It  did  not  return  by  the  same  route,  but  went  to 
the  north,  and  came  to  the  isle  of  the  goddess  of 
Circe,  who  purified  Jason  and  Medea  from  the 
blood  of  the  poor  boy.  Then  they  came  to  the 
isle  of  the  Sirens,  creatures  like  fair  maidens,  who 


72  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

stood  on  the  shore,  singing  so  sweetly  that  no  sailor 
could  resist  the  charm ;  but  the  moment  any  man 
reached  the  shore,  they  strangled  him  and  sucked 
his  blood.  Warned  by  Medea,  Orpheus  played 
and  sang  so  grandly  as  to  drown  their  fatal  song, 
and  the  Argo  came  out  into  the  Mediterranean 
somewhere  near  Trinacria,  the  three-cornered  island 
now  called  Sicily,  where  they  had  to  pass  between 
two  lofty  cliffs.  In  a  cave  under  one  of  these  lived 
a  monster  called  Scylla,  with  twelve  limbs  and  six 
long  necks,  with  a  dog's  head  to  each,  ready  each 
to  seize  a  man  out  of  every  ship  that  passed ;  but 
it  was  safer  to  keep  on  her  side  than  to  go  to  the 
other  cliff,  for  there  a  water-witch  named  Chary b- 
dis  lived  in  a  whirlpool,  and  was  sure  to  suck  the 
whole  ship  in,  and  swallow  it  up.  However,  for 
her  husband  Peleus'  sake,  Thetis  and  her  sis- 
ter Nereids  came  and  guided  the  Argo  safely 
through. 

When  the  crew  returned  to  Iolcus,  they  had  only 
been  absent  four  months ;  and  Jason  gave  the 
fleece  to  his  uncle  Pelias,  and  dedicated  the  Argo 
to  Neptune.  He  found  his  father  ^Eson  grown 
very  old,  but  Medea  undertook  to  restore  him  to 
youth.  She  went  forth  by  moonlight,  gathered  a 
number  of  herbs,  and  then,  putting  them  in  a  cal- 


The  /Success  of  the  Argonauts.  73 

dron,  she  cut  old  iEson  into  pieces,  threw  them 
in,  and  boiled  them  all  night.  In  the  morning 
JEson  appeared  as  a  lively  black-haired  young  man, 
no  older  than  his  son.  Pelias'  daughters  came  and 
begged  her  to  teach  them  the  same  spell.  She 
feigned  to  do  so,  but  she  did  not  tell  them  the  true 
herbs,  and  thus  the  poor  maidens  only  slew  their 
father,  and  did  not  bring  him  to  life  again.  The 
son  of  Pelias  drove  the  treacherous  Medea  and  her 
husband  from  Iolcus,  and  then  went  to  Corinth, 
where  they  lived  ten  years,  until  Jason  grew  weary 
of  Medea,  and  put  her  away,  in  order  to  marry 
Creusa,  the  king's  daughter.  In  her  rage,  Medea 
sent  the  bride  the  fatal  gift  of  a  poisoned  robe, 
then  she  killed  her  own  children,  and  fled  away,  in 
a  chariot  drawn  by  winged  serpents,  to  the  east, 
where  she  became  the  mother  of  a  son  named 
Medus,  from  whom  the  nation  of  Medes  was  de- 
scended. As  to  Jason,  he  had  fallen  asleep  at  noon 
one  hot  day  under  the  shade  of  the  Argo,  where  it 
was  drawn  up  on  the  sand  by  Neptune's  temple, 
when  a  bit  of  wood  broke  off  from  the  prow,  fell  on 
his  head,  and  killed  him. 

Of  the  other  Argonauts,  Orpheus  went  to  Thes- 
saly,  and  there  taught  and  softened  the  people 
much  bv  his   music.     He  married   a  fair   maiden 


74  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

named  Eurydice,  with  whom  he  lived  happily  and 
peacefully,  till  she  was  bitten  by  a  venomous  ser- 
pent and  died.  Orpheus  was  so  wretched  that  he 
set  forth  to  try  to  bring  her  back  from  Tartarus. 
He  went  with  nothing  but  his  lyre,  and  his  music 
was  so  sweet  that  Cerberus  stood  listening,  and  let 
him  pass,  and  all  the  torments  of  the  Danaids, 
Sisyphus  and  all  the  rest,  ceased  while  he  was  play- 
ing. His  song  even  brought  tears  into  Pluto's 
eyes,  and  Proserpine,  who  guarded  the  female  dead, 
gave  him  leave  to  take  back  Eurydice  to  the  light 
of  day,  provided  he  did  not  once  look  back  as  he 
led  her  out  of  Tartarus. 

Orpheus  had  to  walk  first,  and,  as  he  went  up 
the  long,  dark  cavern,  with  Eurydice  behind  him, 
he  carefully  obeyed,  till,  just  as  he  was  reaching  the 
upper  air,  he  unhappily  forgot,  and  turned  his  head 
to  see  whether  she  were  following.  He  just  saw 
her  stretch  out  her  hands  to  him,  and  then  she  was 
drawn  back,  and  vanished  from  his  sight.  The 
gates  were  closed,  and  he  had  lost  her  again. 
After  this  he  wandered  sadly  about,  all  his  songs 
turned  to  woe,  until  at  last  the  Bacchanal  women, 
in  fury  at  his  despising  the  foul  rites  of  their  god, 
tore  him  limb  from  limb.  The  Muses  collected 
his  remains,   and  gave   them    funeral   rites,    and 


The  Success  of  the  Argonauts.  75 

Jupiter  placed  his  lyre  in  the  skies,  where  you  may 
know  it  by  one  of  the  brightest  of  all  our  stars. 

Hercules  also  made  another  visit  to  the  realms 
below.  Admetus,  one  of  the  JEolian  kings,  had 
obtained  from  Apollo  that,  when  the  time  came  for 
him  to  die,  his  life  should  be  prolonged  if  anyone 
would  submit  to  death  in  his  turn.  The  call  came 
while  Admetus  was  still  young,  and  he  besought 
his  old  father,  and  then  his  mother,  to  die  in  his 
stead ;  but  they  would  not,  and  it  was  his  fair 
young  wife  Alcestis  who  gave  her  life  for  his. 
Just  as  she  was  laid  in  the  tomb,  Hercules  came  to 
visit  Admetus,  and,  on  hearing  what  had  happened, 
he  went  down  to  the  kingdom  of  Pluto  and  brought 
her  back.  Or  some  say  he  sat  by  her  tomb,  and 
wrestled  with  Death  when  he  came  to  seize  her. 

But,  strong  as  he  was,  Hercules  had  in  time  to 
meet  death  himself.  He  had  married  a  nymph 
named  Deianira,  and  was  taking  her  home,  when 
he  came  to  a  river  where  a  Centaur  named  Nessus 
lived,  and  gained  his  bread  by  carrying  travelers 
over  on  his  back.  Hercules  paid  him  the  price  for 
carrying  Deianira  over,  while  he  himself  crossed 
on  foot ;  but  as  soon  as  the  river  was  between  them, 
the  faithless  Centaur  began  to  gallop  away  with  the 
lady.     Hercules  sent  an   arrow  after   him,    which 


76  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

brought  him  to  the  ground,  and  as  he  was  dying  he 
prepared  his  revenge,  by  telling  Deianira  that  his 
blood  was  enchanted  with  love  for  her,  and  that  if 
ever  she  found  her  husband's  affection  failing  her, 
she  had  only  to  make  him  put  on  a  garment  anoint- 
ed with  it,  and  his  heart  would  return  to  her ;  he 
knew  full  well  that  his  blood  was  full  of  the  poison 
of  the  Hydra,  but  poor  Deianira  believed  him,  and 
had  saved  some  of  the  blood  before  Hercules  came 
up. 

Several  years  after,  Hercules  made  prisoner  a 
maiden  named  Iole,  in  Lydia,  after  gaining  a  great 
victory.  Landing  in  the  island  of  Euboea,  he  Avas 
going  to  make  a  great  sacrifice  to  Jupiter,  and 
sent  home  to  Deianira  for  a  festal  garment  to  wear 
at  it.  She  was  afraid  he  was  falling  in  love  Avith 
Iole,  and  steeped  the  garment  in  the  preparation 
she  had  made  from  Nessus'  blood.  No  sooner  did 
Hercules  put  it  on,  than  his  veins  were  filled  with 
agony,  which  nothing  could  assuage.  He  tried  to 
tear  off  the  robe,  but  the  skin  and  flesh  came  with 
it,  and  his  blood  was  poisoned  beyond  relief.  He 
sailed  home,  and  when  Deianira  saw  the  state  he 
was  in  she  hung  herself  for  grief,  while  he  charged 
Hylas,  his  eldest  son,  to  take  care  of  Iole,  and 
marry  her  as  soon  as  he  grew  up.     Then,  unable  to 


The  Success  of  the  Argonauts,  77 

bear  the  pain  any  longer,  and  knowing  that  by  his 
twelve  tasks  he  had  earned  the  prize  of  endless  life, 
he  went  to  Mount  (Eta,  crying  aloud  with  the 
pain,  so  that  the  rocks  rang  again  with  the  sound. 
He  gave  his  quiver  of  arrows  to  his  friend  Philoc- 
tetes,  charging  him  to  collect  his  ashes  and  bury 
them,  but  never  to  make  known  the  spot;  and 
then  he  tore  up,  with  his  mighty  strength,  trees  by 
the  roots  enough  to  form  a  funeral  pile,  lay  down 
on  it,  and  called  on  his  friend  to  set  fire  to  it; 
but  no  one  could  bear  to  do  so,  till  a  shepherd  con- 
sented to  thrust  in  a  torch.  Then  thunder  was 
heard,  a  cloud  came  down,  and  he  was  borne  away 
to  Olympus,  while  Philoctetes  collected  and  buried 
the  ashes. 

His  young  sons  were  banished  by  Eurystheus, 
and  were  taken  by  his  old  friend  Iolaus  to  seek 
shelter  in  various  cities,  but  only  the  Athenians 
were  brave  enough  to  let  them  remain.  Theseus 
had  been  driven  away  and  banished  from  Athens  ; 
but  the  citizens  sheltered  the  sons  of  the  hero,  and, 
when  Eurystheus  pursued  them,  a  battle  was 
fought  on  the  isthmus  of  Corinth,  in  which  the  old 
enemy  of  Hercules  was  killed  by  Iolaus,  with  all 
his  sons.  Then  the  Heraclieds  (sons  of  Hercules) 
were  going  to  fight  their  way  back  to  Argos,  but 


78  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece, 

an  army  met  them  at  the  isthmus,  and  was  going 
to  give  them  battle,  when  Hylas  proposed  that  he 
should  fight  with  a  single  champion  chosen  on  the 
other  side.  If  he  gained,  he  was  to  be  restored  to 
the  kingdom  of  Perseus ;  if  not  there  was  to  be  a 
truce  for  a  hundred  years.  Hylas  had  not  the 
strength  of  his  father ;  he  was  slain,  and  his  brothers 
had  to  retreat  and  bide  their  time. 

Argos  came  into  the  power  of  Agamemnon,  who 
had  married  Clytemnestra,  the  sister  of  Castor  and 
Pollux,  while  his  brother  Menelaus  married  the 
beautiful  Helen.  All  the  Greek  heroes  had  been 
suitors  for  Helen,  the  fairest  woman  living,  and 
they  all  swore  to  one  another  that,  choose  she 
whom  she  might,  they  would  all  stand  by  him,  and 
punish  any  one  who  might  try  to  steal  her  from 
him.  Her  choice  fell  on  Menelaus,  and  soon  after 
her  wedding  her  brother  Castor  was  slain,  and 
though  Pollux  was  immortal,  he  could  not  bear  to 
live  without  his  brother,  and  prayed  to  share  his 
death ;  upon  which  Jupiter  made  them  both  stars, 
the  bright  ones  called  Gemini,  or  the  Twins,  and 
Menelaus  reigned  with  Helen  at  Sparta,  as  Aga- 
memnon did  at  Mycenae. 

These  two  were  sons  of  Atreus,  and  were  de- 
scended from  Tantalus,  once  a  favorite  of  the  gods, 


The  Success  of  the  Argonauts.  79 

who  used  to  come  down  and  feast  with  him,  until 
once  he  took  his  son  Pelops  and  dressed  him  for 
their  meal.  Jupiter  found  it  out,  collected  the 
limbs,  and  restored  the  boy  to  life ;  but  Ceres  had 
been  so  distracted  with  grief  about  her  daughter, 
that  she  had  eaten  one  shoulder,  and  Jupiter  had 
given  him  an  ivory  one  instead.  Tantalus  was 
sent  to  Tartarus,  where  his  punishment  was  to  pine 
with  hunger  and  thirst,  with  a  feast  before  him, 
where  he  neither  could  touch  the  food  nor  the 
drink,  because  there  was  a  rock  hung  over  his  head 
threatening  to  crush  him.  Pelops  was  a  wonder- 
ful charioteer,  and  won  his  bride  in  the  chariot 
race,  having  bribed  the  charioteer  of  his  rival  to 
leave  out  the  linchpins  of  his  wheels.  Afterwards, 
when  the  charioteer  asked  a  reward,  Pelops  threw 
him  into  the  sea ;  and  this  was  the  second  crime 
that  brought  a  doom  on  the  race.  Pelops  gave  his 
name  to  the  whole  peninsula  now  called  the  Morea, 
or  mulberry-leaf,  but  which  was  all  through  ancient 
times  known  as  the  Peloponnesus,  or  Isle  of  Pelops. 
He  reigned  at  Elis,  and  after  his  death  his  sons 
Atreus  and  Thyestes  struggled  for  the  rule,  but 
both  were  horribly  wicked  men,  and  Atreus  was 
said  to  have  killed  two  sons  of  Thyestes,  and 
served  them  up  to  him   at   a   feast.     There  was, 


80 


Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 


therefore,  a  heavy  curse  on  the  whole  family,  both 
on  ^Egi§thus,  son  of  Thyestes,  and  on  his  cousins 
Agamemnon  and  Menelaus,  the  Atridae,  or  sons  of 
Atreus. 


CHAPTER   VTIT. 


THE    CHOICE    OF    PARIS. 


THE  gods  and  goddesses  were  merrily  feasting 
when  Ate,  the  goddess  of  strife,  desirous  of 
making  mischief,  threw  down  among  them  a  golden 
apple,  engraven  with  the  words,  "  This  apple  to  the 
Fair."  The  three  goddesses,  Juno,  Pallas,  and 
Venus,  each  thought  it  meant  for  her — one  having 
the  beauty  of  dignity,  the  other  the  beauty  of  wis- 
dom, and  the  third  the  beauty  of  grace  and  fairness. 
They  would  not  accept  the  award  of  any  of  the 
gods,  lest  they  should  not  be  impartial ;  but  they 
declared  that  no  one  should  decide  between  them 
but  Paris,  a  shepherd,  though  a  king's  son,  who 
was  keeping  his  flocks  on  Mount  Ida. 

Each  goddess  tried  to  allure  him  -to  choose  her 
by  promises.  Juno  offered  him  a  mighty  throne  ; 
Pallas  promised  to  make  him  the  wisest  of  men; 

81 


82  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

Venus  declared  that  she  would  give  him  the  fairest 
woman  on  earth  for  his  wife  for  ten  years — she 
could  assure  him  of  no  more.  And  it  was  Venus  to 
whom  Paris  assigned  the  golden  apple  of  discord, 
thus  bitterly  offending  Juno  and  Pallas,  who  be- 
came the  enemies  of  his  nation. 

His  nation  was  the  Trojan,  who  dwelt  on  the 
east  coast  of  the  ^Egean  Sea,  and  were  of  the  Pelas- 
gic  race.  Their  chief  city  was  Troy,  with  the 
citadel  Ilium,  lying  near  the  banks  of  the  rivers 
Simois  and  Scamander,  between  the  sea  shore  and 
the  wooded  mount  of  Ida,  in  the  north-east  of  the 
peninsula  we  call  Asia  Minor.  The  story  went 
that  the  walls  had  "been  built  by  Neptune  and 
Apollo,  the  last  of  whom  had  brought  the  stones  to 
their  place  by  the  music  of  his  lyre  ;  but  the  king 
who  was  then  reigning  had  refused  to  pay  them, 
and  had  thus  made  them  also  his  foes.  But  within 
the  citadel  was  an  image  of  Pallas,  three  ells  long, 
with  a  spear  in  one  hand  and  a  distaff  in  the  other, 
which  was  called  the  Palladium.  It  was  said  to 
have  been  given  by  Jupiter  to  Ilus,  the  first 
founder  of  the  city ;  and  as  long  as  it  was  within 
the  walls,  the  place  could  never  be  taken. 

The  present  king  was  Priam,  and  his  wife  was 
Hecuba.     They  had  nineteen  children,  and  lived  in 


The   Choice  of  Paris.  83 

a  palace  built  round  a  court,  with  an  altar  in  the 
middle,  their  sons  having  houses  likewise  opening 
into  the  court,  Paris,  who  was  worthless  and 
pleasure-loving,  was  the  eldest  son ;  Hector,  a 
very  noble  person,  was  the  second.  After  Pari.; 
had  given  judgment  in  her  favor,  Venus  directed 
him  to  build  a  ship,  and  go  to  visit  the  Greek 
kings.  He  was  kindly  entertained  everywhere, 
and  especially  at  Sparta ;  and  here  it  was  that 
Venus  fulfilled  her  promise,  by  helping  him  to  steal 
away  Helen,  the  fairest  of  women,  while  her  hus- 
band Menelaus  was  gone  to  Crete. 

As  soon  as  Menelaus  found  out  how  his  hospital- 
ity had  been  misused,  he  called  upon  all  the  Greek 
heroes  to  remember  their  oath,  and  help  him  to  re- 
cover his  wife,  and  take  vengeance  on  Paris.  Every- 
one replied  to  the  call ;  but  the  wise  Ulysses,  grand- 
son of  Sisyphus,  and  king  of  the  little  isle  of  Ithaca, 
could  not  bear  to  leave  his  home,  or  his  fair  young 
wife  Penelope,  for  a  war  which  he  knew  would  be 
long  and  terrible,  so  he  feigned  to  be  mad,  and 
began  furiously  ploughing  the  sea  shore  with  a 
yoke  of  oxen.  However,  the  next  cleverest  hero, 
Palamedes,  to  prove  him,  placed  his  infant  son 
Telemachus  full  in  the  way  of  the  plough,  and 
when  Ulysses  turned  it  aside  from  the  child,  they 


84  Young -Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

declared  that  his  madness  was  only  pretended,  and 
he  was  forced  to  go  with  them. 

The  Nereid  Thetis  knew  that  if  her  brave  and 
beautiful  son  Achilles  went  to  Troy,  he  would  die 
there ;  so  she  dressed  him  as  a  maiden,  and  placed 
him  at  the  court  of  the  king  of  Scyros,  where  he 
stayed  for  love  of  one  of  the  king's  daughters.  But 
the  Greeks  had  a  man  named  Calchas,  who  was  an 
augur  —  that  is,  he  could  tell  what  was  going  to 
happen  by  the  flight  of  birds,  by  the  clouds,  and  by 
the  inwards  of  sacrificed  animals.  Calchas  told  the 
Greeks  that  Troy  would  never  be  taken  unless 
Achilles  went  with  them.  So  Ulysses,  guessing 
where  the  youth  was,  disguised  himself  as  a  mer- 
chant, and  went  with  his  wares  to  the  palace  of 
Scyros.  All  the  maidens  came  forth  to  look  at 
them,  and  while  most  were  busy  with  the  jewels 
and  robes,  one,  tall  and  golden-haired,  seemed  to 
care  for  nothing  but  a  bright  sword,  holding  it 
with  a  strong,  firm  hand.  Then  Ulysses  knew  he 
had  found  Achilles,  and  told  him  of  the  famous 
war  that  was  beginning,  and  the  youth  threw  off 
his  maiden's  garb,  put  on  his  armor,  and  went 
eagerly  with  them ;  but  before  he  went  he  married 
the  fair  Deidamia,  and  left  her  to  wait  for  him  at 
Scyros,  where  she  had  a  son  named  Pyrrhus. 


The   Choice  of  Paris.  85 

Indeed  the  Greeks  were  whole  years  gathering 
their  forces,  and  when  they  did  all  meet  at  last, 
with  their  ships  and  men,  Agamemnon,  king  of 
Mycenae,  Menelaus'  brother,  took  the  lead  of  them 
all.  As  they  were  sacrificing  to  Jupiter,  a  snake 
glided  up  a  tree,  where  there  was  a  sparrow's  nest, 
and  ate  up  all  the  eight  young  ones,  and  then  the 
mother  bird.  On  seeing  this,  Calchas  foretold  that 
the  war  would  last  nine  years,  and  after  the  ninth 
Troy  would  be  taken. 

However,  they  sailed  on,  till  at  Aulis  they  were 
stopped  by  foul  winds  for  many  days,  and  Calchas 
told  them  it  was  because  of  Agamemnon's  broken 
vow.  He  had  sworn,  one  year,  to  sacrifice  to 
Diana  the  fairest  thing  that  was  born  in  his  house 
or  lands.  The  fairest  thing  that  was  born  was  his 
little  daughter  Iphigenia  ;  but  he  could  not  bear  to 
sacrifice  her,  and  so  had  tried  offering  his  choicest 
kid.  Now  Diana  sent  these  winds  to  punish  him, 
and  the  other  kings  required  him  to  give  up  his 
child.  Sofa  message  was  sent  to  her  mother,  Cly- 
temnestra,  to  send  her,  on  pretence  that  she  was  to 
be  married  to  Achilles,  and  when  she  came  to 
Aulis  she  found  that  it  was  only  to  be  offered  up. 
However,  she  resigned  herself  bravely,  and  was 
ready  to  die  for  her  father  and  the  cause  ;  but  just 


86  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

as  Agamemnon  had  his  sword  ready,  and  had  cov- 
ered her  face  that  he  might  not  see  her  pleading 
eyes  as  he  was  slaying  her,  Diana  took  pity,  darted 
down  in  a  cloud,  and  in  the  place  of  the  maiden  a 
white  hind  lay  on  the  altar  to  be  offered.  Iphige- 
nia  was  really  carried  off  to  serve  as  priestess  at 
Diana's  temple  at  Tauris,  but  it  was  long  before  it 
was  known  what  had  become  of  her,  and  Clytem- 
nestra  never  forgave  Agamemnon  for  what  he  had 
intended  to  do.  « 

At  the  isle  of  Tenedos  the  Greeks  had  to  leave 
behind  Philoctetes,  the  friend  of  Hercules,  who  had 
his  quiver  of  poisoned  arrows,  because  the  poor 
man  had  a  wound  in  his  heel,  which  was  in  such  a 
dreadful  state  that  no  one  could  bear  to  come  near 
him.  One  story  was  that  he  was  bitten  by  a  water- 
snake,  another  that  when  he  was  just  setting  off 
he  had  been  over-persuaded  to  show  where  he  had 
buried  the  ashes  of  Hercules.  He  did  not  sa}T  one 
word,  but  stamped  with  his  foot  on  the  place,  and 
an  arrow  fell  out  at  the  moment  and  pierced  his 
heel. '  At  any  rate,  he  and  the  arrows  were  left 
behind,  while  the  Greeks  reached  the  coast  of 
Troy. 

The  augurs  had  declared  that  the  first  man  who 
touched  the  shore  would  be  the  first  to  be  killed. 


The    Choice  of  Paris. 


87 


Achilles  threw  his  shield  before  him,  and  leaped 
out  of  the  ship  upon  that ;  but  Protesilaus  leaped 
without  so  doing,  and  was  slain  almost  instantly  by 
the  Trojans.  When  his  wife  Laodamia  heard  of 
his  death,  she  grieved  and  pined  so  piteously  that 
his  spirit  could  not  rest,  and  Mercury  gave  him 
leave  to  come  back  and  spend  three  hours  with  her 
on  earth.  He  came,  but  when  she  tried  to  embrace 
him  she  found  that  he  was  only  thin  air,  which 
could  not  be  grasped,  and  when  the  time  was  over 


GREEK    SHIP. 


he  vanished  from  her  sight.  Then  Laodamia  made 
an  image  of  him,  and  treated  it  as  a  god ;  and 
when  her  father  forbade  her  to  do  this,  she  leaped 
into  the  fire,  and  thus  perished. 

The  chief  of  the  Greeks  were  Agamemnon,  king 
of  Mycenae,  his  brother   Menelaus  of  Sparta,  and 


88  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

Achilles  of  iEgina,  whose  men  were  called  Myrmi- 
dons, and  said  to  be  descended  from  ants.  His 
friend,  to  whom  he  was  devoted,  was  called  Patro- 
clus.  He  was  the  most  perfect  warrior  in  the 
army,  but  Diomed  the  JEtolian  came  near  him  in 
daring,  and  Ajax  of  Salamis,  son  of  Telamon,  was 
the  biggest  and  strongest  man.  His  brother  Teucer 
used  to  stand  behind  his  shield  and  aim  arrows  at 
the  Trojans.  There  was  another  Ajax,  from  Lo- 
cria,  called  after  his  father  Oileus.  The  oldest 
man  in  the  camp  was  Nestor,  king  of  Pylos,  who 
had  been  among  the  Argonauts,  and  had  been  a 
friend  of  Hercules,  and  was  much  looked  up  to. 
The  wisest  men  were  Ulysses  of  Ithaca,  and  Pala- 
medes,  who  is  said  to  have  invented  the  game  of 
chess  to  amuse  the  warriors  in  the  camp  ;  but  Ulys- 
ses never  forgave  Palamedes  for  his  trick  on  the 
shore  at  Ithaca,  and  managed  to  make  him  be  sus- 
pected of  secret  dealings  with  the  Trojans,  and  put 
to  death.  Each  of  these  brought  a  band  of  fight- 
ing men,  and  they  had  their  ships,  which  were  not 
much  more  than  large  boats,  drawn  up  high  and 
dry  on  the  shore  behind  the  camp.  They  fought 
with  swords  and  spears,  which  latter  were  thrown 
with  the  hand.  Some  had  bows  and  arrows,  and 
the  chiefs  generally  went  to  battle  in  a  chariot,  an 


The    Choice  of  Hercules.  89 

open  car  drawn  by  two  horses,  and  driven  by  some 
trusty  friend,  who  held  the  horses  while  the  chief 
stood  up  and  launched  spear  after  spear  among  the 
enemy.  There  was  no  notion  of  mercy  to  the  fallen  ; 
prisoners  were  seldom  made,  and  if  a  man  was 
once  down,  unless  his  friends  could  save  him,  he 
was  sure  to  be  killed. 

During  the  first  eight  years  of  the  war  we  do 
not  hear  much  of  the  Greeks.  They  seem  to  have 
been  taking  and  wasting  the  cities  belonging  to  the 
Trojans  all  round  the  country.  The  home  of  An- 
dromache, Hector's  good  and  loving  wife,  was  de- 
stroyed, and  her  parents  and  brothers  killed ;  and 
Priam's  cousin,  ^Eneas  was  also  driven  in  from 
Mount  Ida,  with  his  old  father  Anchises,  and  wife 
and  little  son.  In  the  ninth  year  of  the  war  the 
Greeks  drew  up  their  forces  round  the  walls  of 
Troy  itself,  their  last  exploit  having  been  the 
taking  of  the  city  of  Chrysse,  where  they  had  gained 
a  great  deal  of  plunder.  All  captives  were  then 
made  slaves,  and  in  the  division  of  the  spoil  a 
maiden  named  Briseis  was  given  to  Achilles,  while 
Agamemnon  took  one  called  Chryseis,  the  daughter 
of  Chryses,  priest  of  Apollo. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


THE    SIEGE    OF    TROY. 


\\  ^E  have  come  to  the  part  of  this  siege  which 

»  T      is  told  us  in  the  Iliad,  the  oldest  poem  we 

know,  except  the   Psalms,   and   one  of  the  very 

finest.     It  begins  by  telling  how  Clnyses  prayed  to 

Apollo  to  help  him  to  get  back  his  daughter,  and 

Apollo   sent  a   plague   upon  the    Greeks  in   their 

camp.     Calchas  told  them  it  was  because  of  Chry- 

seis,  and  they  forced  Agamemnon  to  give  her  safely 

back  to  her  father.     His  pride,  however,  was  hurt, 

and  lie  said  he  must  have  Briseis  in  her  stead,  and 

sent   and  took  her  from  Achilles.     In   his   wrath 

Achilles  declared  he  would  not  fight  any  more  for 

the  Greeks,  and  his  mother  Thetis  begged  Jupiter 

to  withdraw  his  aid  from  them  likewise,  that  they 

might  feel  the  difference. 

The  Trojans  went  out  to  attack  them,  and  when 

90 


^rrS^j^starH. 


HECTOR  AND   ANDROMACHE. 


The  Siege  of  Troy.  93 

they  were  drawn  up  in  battle  array,  old  Priam 
made  Helen  come  and  sit  by  him  on  the  battlements 
over  the  gate-way,  to  tell  him  who  all  the  chiefs 
were.  It  was  proposed  that,  instead  of  causing  the 
death  of  numbers  who  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
quarrel,  Menelaus  and  Paris  should  fight  hand-to- 
hand  for  Helen ;  and  they  began ;  but  as  soon  as 
Venus  saw  that  her  favorite  Paris  was  in  danger, 
she  came  in  a  cloud,  snatched  him  away,  and  set  him 
down  in  Helen's  chamber,  where  his  brother  Hec- 
tor found  him  reclining  at  his  ease,  on  coming  to 
upbraid  him  for  keeping  out  of  the  battle,  where  so 
many  better  men  than  he  were  dying  for  his  crime. 
Very  different  were  Hector's  ways.  He  parted 
most  tenderly  with  his  wife  Andromache,  and  his 
little  son  Astyanax,  who  was  so  young  that  he 
clung  crying  to  his  nurse,  afraid  of  his  father's  tall 
helmet  and  horse-hair  crest.  Hector  took  the  hel- 
met off  before  he  lifted  the  little  one  in  luVarms 
and  prayed  to  the  gods  for  him. 

Each  day  the  Trojans  gained,  though  one  day 
Jupiter  forbade  any  of  the  gods  or  goddesses  to 
interfere,  and  on  another  he  let  them  all  go  down 
and  fight  for  their  own  parties.  He  was  himself 
impartial;  but  one  day  Juno  managed  to  borrow 
Venus'  girdle,  which  made  her  so  charming  that 


94  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

nothing  could  resist  her,  and  she  lulled  him  to 
sleep.  During  that  time  the  Greeks  prevailed 
again,  but  this  only  lasted  till  Jupiter  awoke,  and 
then  the  Trojans  gained  great  success.  All  the 
Greek  heroes  were  disabled  one  after  another,  and 
Hector  and  his  men  broke  through  the  rampart 
they  had  made  round  their  camp,  and  were  about 
to  burn  the  ships,  when  Patroclus,  grieved  at  find- 
ing all  his  friends  wounded,  came  to  Achilles  with 
an  entreaty  that  he  might  be  allowed  to  send  out 
the  Myrmidons,  and  try  to  save  the  ships.  Achilles 
consented,  and  dressed  Patroclus  in  his  own  armor. 
Then  all  gave  way  before  the  fresh  Myrmidons  led 
by  Patroclus,  and  the  Trojans  were  chased  back  to 
their  walls  ;  but  as  Hector  made  a  last  stand  before 
the  gates,  Apollo,  who  loved  Troy  because  he  had 
built  the  walls,  caused  a  sunbeam  to  strike  on 
Patroclus  and  make  him  faint,  so  that  Hector  easily 
struck  him  down  and  killed  him.  Then  there  was 
a  desperate  fight  over  his  body.  The  Trojans  did 
get  the  armor  off  it,  but  the  Greeks  saved  the 
corpse,  and  had  almost  reached  the  rampart,  when 
the  Trojans  came  thicker  and  more  furiously  on 
them,  and  were  almost  bursting  in,  when  Achilles, 
hearing  the  noise,  came  out,  and,  standing  on  the 
rampart  just  as  he   was,  all  unarmed,  gave  a  ter- 


The  Siege  of  Troy,  95 

rible  thundering  shout,  at  which  the  Trojans  were 
filled  with  dismay,  and  fled  back  in  confusion, 
while  the  corpse  of  Patroclus  was  borne  into  the 
tent,  where  Achilles  mourned  over  it,  with  many 
tears  and  vows  of  vengeance  against  Hector. 

His  mother  Thetis  came  from  the  sea  and  wept 
with  him,  and  thence  she  went  to  Vulcan,  from 
whom  she  obtained  another  beautiful  suit  of  armor, 
with  a  wondrous  shield,  representing  Greek  life  in 
every  phase  of  war  or  peace ;  and  in  this  Achilles 
went  forth  again  to  the  battle.  He  drove  the 
Trojans  before  his  irresistible  might,  came  up  with 
Hector,  chased  him  round  and  round  the  walls  of 
Troy,  and  at  length  came  up  with  him  and  slew 
him.  Then,  when  Patroclus  had  been  laid  on  a 
costly  funeral  pile,  Achilles  dragged  Hector's  body 
at  the  back  of  his  chariot  three  times  round  it. 
Further,  in  honor  of  his  friend,  he  had  games  of 
racing  in  chariots  and  on  foot,  wrestling,  boxing, 
throwing  heavy  stones,  and  splendidly  rewarded 
those  who  excelled  with  metal  tripods,  weapons, 
and  robes. 

But  when  poor  old  Priam,  grieving  that  his  son's 
corpse  should  lie  unburied,  thus  hindering  his 
shade  from  being  at  rest,  came  forth  at  night,  in 
disguise,  to  beg  it  from  Achilles,  the  hero  received 


96  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

the  old  man  most  kindly,  wept  at  the  thought  of 
his  own  father  Peleus,  fed  and  warmed  him,  and 
sent  home  the  body  of  Hector  most  honorably. 

Here  ends  the  Iliad.  It  is  from  other  poems 
that  the  rest  of  the  history  is  taken,  and  we  know 
that  Achilles  performed  many  more  great  exploits, 
until  Paris  was  aided  by  Apollo  to  shoot  an  arrow 
into  the  heel  which  alone  could  be  wounded,  and 
thus  the  hero  died.  There  was  another  great  fight 
over  his  body,  but  Ajax  and  Ulysses  rescued  it  at 
last ;  Ajax  bore  it  to  the  ships,  and  Ulysses  kept 
back  the  Trojans.  Thetis  and  all  the  Nereids  and 
all  the  Muses  came  to  mourn  over  him ;  and  when 
he  was  burnt  in  the  funeral  pile  she  bore  away  his 
spirit  to  the  white  island,  while  the  Greeks  raised 
a  huge  mound  in  his  honor.  She  promised  his 
armor  to  the  Greek  who  had  done  most  to  rescue 
his  corpse.  The  question  lay  between  Ajax  and 
Ulysses,  and  Trojan  captives  being  appointed  as 
judges,  gave  sentence  in  favor  of  Ulysses.  Ajax 
was  so  grieved  that  he  had  a  fit  of  frenzy,  fancied 
the  cattle  were  the  Greeks  who  slighted  him,  killed 
whole  flocks  in  his  rage,  and,  when  he  saw  what  he 
had  done,  fell  on  his  own  sword  and  died. 

Having  lost  these  great  champions,  the  Greeks 
resolved  to  fetch  Achilles'  young  son  Pyrrhus  to 


The  Siege  of  Troy.  97 

the  camp,  and  also  to  get  again  those  arrows  of 
Hercules  which  Philoctetes  had  with  him.  Ulys- 
ses and  Pyrrhus  were  accordingly  sent  to  fetch 
him  from  his  lonely  island.  They  found  him  howl- 
ing with  pain,  but  he  would  not  hear  of  coming 
away  with  them.  So  Ulysses  stole  his  quiver  while 
he  was  asleep,  but  when  he  awoke  and  missed  it 
his  lamentations  so  moved  young  Pyrrhus  that  he 
gave  them  back ;  and  this  so  touched  the  heart  of 
Philoctetes  that  he  consented  to  return  to  the 
camp.  There  Machaon,  the  physician  of  the  Greeks, 
healed  his  foot,  and  he  soon  after  shot  Paris  with 
one  of  the  arrows. 

Instead  of  now  giving  up  Helen,  Deiphobus  and 
Helenus,  the  two  next  brothers,  quarreled  as  to 
which  should  marry  her,  and  when  she  was  given 
to  Deiphobus,  Helenus  was  so  angry  that  he  went 
out  and  wandered  in  the  forests  of  Mount  Ida, 
where  he  was  made  prisoner  by  Ulysses,  who  con- 
trived to  find  out  from  him  that  Troy  could  never 
be  taken  while  it  had  the  Palladium  within  it. 
Accordingly,  Ulysses  and  Diomed  set  out,  and 
climbing  over  the  wall  by  night,  stole  the  wondrous 
image.  While  the  Trojans  were  dismayed  at  the 
loss,  the  Greeks  seemed  to  have  changed  their 
minds.     They  took  ship  and  sailed  away,  and  all 


98  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

the  surviving  Trojans,  relieved  from  their  siege, 
rushed  down  to  the  shore,  where  all  they  found 
was  a  monstrous  wooden  horse.  While  they  were 
looking  at  it  in  wonder,  a  Greek  came  out  of  the 
rocks,  and  told  them  that  his  name  was  Sinon,  and 
that  he  had  been  cruelly  left  behind  by  the  Greeks, 
who  had  grown  weary  of  the  siege  and  gone  home, 
but  that  if  the  wonderful  horse  were  once  taken 
into  Troy  it  would  serve  as  another  Palladium. 
The  priest  of  Neptune,  Laocoon,  did  not  believe 
the  story,  and  declared  that  Sinon  was  a  spy ;  but 
he  was  cut  short  in  his  remonstrance  by  two  huge 
serpents,  which  glided  out  of  the  sea  and  devoured 
him  and  his  two  sons.  Cassandra,  too,  a  daughter 
of  Priam,  who  had  the  gift  of  prophecy,  but  was 
fated  never  to  be  believed,  shrieked  with  despair 
when  she  saw  the  Trojans  harnessing  themselves 
to  the  horse  to  drag  it  into  Troy,  but  nobody  heed- 
ed her,  and  there  was  a  great  feast  to  dedicate  it  to 
Pallas.  Helen  perhaps  guessed  or  knew  what  it 
meant,  for  at  dark  she  walked  round  it,  and  called 
the  names  of  Ulysses,  and  many  other  Greeks,  in 
the  voices  of  Penelope  and  the  other  wives  at 
home. 

For  indeed  the  horse  was  full  of  Greeks  ;  and  at 
dark  Sinon  lighted  a  beacon  as  a  signal  to  the  rest, 


The  Siege  of  Troy, 


99 


who  were  only  waiting  behind  the  isle  of  Tenedos. 
Then  he  let  the  others  out  of  the  horse,  and 
slaughter  and  fire  reigned  throughout  Troy.  Men- 
elaus  slew  Deiphobus  as  he  tried  to  rise  from  bed, 


THE  LAOCOON. 


and  carried  Helen  down  to  his  ship.  Poor  old 
Priam  tried  to  put  on  his  armor  and  defend  Hecuba 
and  his  daughters,  but  Pyrrhus  killed  him  at  the 
altar  in  his  palace-court ;  and  iEneas,  after  seeing 


100  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

this,  and  that  all  was  lost,  hurried  back  to  his  own 
house,  took  his  father  Anchises  on  his  back,  and 
his  little  son  lulus  in  one  hand,  his  household  gods 
in  the  other,  and  with  his  wife  Creusa  following, 
tried  to  escape  from  the  burning  city  with  his  own 
troop  of  warriors.  All  succeeded  except  poor 
Creusa,  who  was  lost  in  the  throng  of  terrified 
fugitives,  and  was  never  found  again  ;  but  JEneas 
found  ships  on  the  coast,  and  sailed  safely  away  to 
Italy. 

All  the  rest  of  the  Trojans  were  killed  or  made 
slaves.  Ulysses  killed  Hector's  poor  little  son,  and 
Andromache  became  slave  to  young  Pyrrhus.  Cas- 
sandra clung  to  Pallas'  statue,  and  Ajax.Oileus, 
trying  to  drag  her  away,  moved  the  statue  itself — 
such  an  act  of  sacrilege  that  the  Greeks  had  nearly 
stoned  him  on  the  spot  —  and  Cassandra  was  given 
to  Agamemnon.  Polyxena,  the  youngest  sister, 
was  sacrificed  on  the  tomb  of  Achilles,  and  poor 
old  Hecuba  went  mad  with  grief. 


•      •»        i  *  > 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  WANDERINGS   OF  ULYSSES. 

THE  overthrow  of  the  temples  at  Troy  was 
heavily  visited  on  the  Greeks  by  the  gocls, 
and  the  disasters  that  befel  Ulysses  are  the  subject 
of  another  grand  Greek  poem  called  the  Odyssey, 
from  his  right  Greek  name  Odysseus.  He  was  the 
special  favorite  of  Pallas  Athene,  but  she  could 
not  save  him  from  many  dangers.  He  had  twelve 
ships,  with  which  he  set  out  to  return  to  Ithaca  ; 
but  as  he  was  doubling  Cape  Malea,  one  of  the 
rugged  points  of  the  Peloponnesus,  a  great  storm 
caught  him,  and  drove  him  nine  days  westward, 
till  he  came  to  an  island,  where  he  sent  three  men 
to  explore,  but  they  did  not  return,  and  he  found 
that  this  was  the  land  of  the  lotus-eaters,  a  people 
who  always  lie  about  in  a  dreamy  state  of  repose, 
and  that  to  taste  the  food  drives  away  all  remem- 

101 


102  Young  Folks'*  History  of  Greece. 

brance  of  home  and  friends.  He  was  obliged  to 
drag  his  men  away  by  force,  and  bind  them  to  the 
benches.  The  lotus-bean,  or  jujube,  is  really  eaten 
in  Africa,  but  not  with  these  effects. 

Next  they  came  to  another  island,  where  there 
was  a  bay  with  rocks  around,  with  goats  leaping  on 
them.  Here  Ulysses  left  eleven  ships,  and  sailed 
with  one  to  explore  the  little  islet  opposite.  Land- 
ing with  his  men,  he  entered  an  enormous  cavern, 
well  stored  with  milk  and  cream,  and  with  rows  of 
cheeses  standing  on  the  ledges  of  rock.  While  the 
Greeks  were  regaling  themselves,  a  noise  was 
heard,  and  great  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats  came 
bleating  in.  Behind  them  came  a  giant,  with  a  fir 
tree  for  a  staff,  and  only  one  eye  in  the  middle  of 
his  forehead.  He  was  Polyphemus,  one  of  the 
Cyclops,  sons  of  Neptune,  and  workmen  of  Vulcan. 
He  asked  fiercely  who  the  strangers  were,  and 
Ulysses  told  him  that  they  were  shipwrecked 
sailors,  imploring  him  for  hospitality  in  the  name 
of  the  gods.  Polyphemus  laughed  at  this,  saying 
he  was  stronger  than  the  gods,  and  did  not  care  for 
them  ;  and,  dashing  two  unhappy  Greeks  on  the 
floor,  he  ate  them  up  at  once  ;  after  which  he 
closed  up  the  front  of  the  cave  with  a  monstrous 
rock,  penned  up  the  kids  and  lambs,  and   began  to 


The    Wanderings  of  Ulysses,  103 

milk  his  goats,  drank  up  a  great  quantity  of  milk, 
and  fell  asleep  on  the  ground.  Ulysses  thought  of 
killing  him  at  once,  but  recollected  that  the  stone 
at  the  mouth  of  the  cave  would  keep  him  captive 
if  the  giant's  strength  did  not  move  it,  and  ab- 
stained. In  the  morning  the  Cyclops  let  out  his 
flocks,  and  then  shut  the  Greeks  in  with  a  stone ; 
but  he  left  his  staff  behind,  and  Ulysses  hardened 
the  top  of  this  in  the  fire.  A  skin  of  wine  had 
been  brought  from  the  ships,  and  when  Polyphe- 
mus came  home  in  the  evening,  and  had  devoured 
two  more  Greeks,  Ulysses  offered  it  to  him.  It 
was  the  first  wine  he  had  tasted,  and  he  was  in  rap- 
tures with  it,  asking  his  guest's  name  as  he  pledged 
him.  "No-man,"  replied  Ulysses,  begging  again 
for  mercy.  u  This  will  I  grant,"  said  the  Cyclops, 
"  in  return  for  thy  gift.  No-man  shall  be  the  last 
whom  I  devour."  He  drank  up  the  whole  skin  of 
wine,  and  went  to  sleep.  Then  Ulysses  and  four 
of  his  companions  seized  the  staff,  and  forced  its 
sharpened  top  into  the  Cyclops'  eye,  so  that  he 
awoke  blind,  and  roaring  so  loud  that  all  the  other 
Cyclops  awoke,  and  came  calling  to  know  who  had 
hurt  him.  "  No-man,"  shouted  back  Polyphemus  ; 
and  they,  thinking  it  was  only  some  sudden  illness, 
went  back  to   their   caves.      Meanwhile,  Ulysses 


104  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

was  fastening  the  remaining  Greeks  under  the 
bellies  of  the  sheep  and  goats,  the  wool  and  hair 
hanging  over  them.  He  himself  clung  on  under 
the  largest  goat,  the  master  of  the  herd.  When 
morning  came,  the  bleatings  of  the  herds  caused 
the  blind  giant  to  rouse  himself  to  roll  back  the 
stone  from  the  entrance.  He  laid  his  hand  on  each 
beast's  back,  that  his  guests  might  not  ride  out  on 
them,  but  he  did  not  feel  beneath,  though  he  kept 
back  Ulysses'  goat  for  a  moment  caressing  it,  and 
saying,  "  My  pretty  goat,  thou  seest  me,  but  I  can- 
not see  thee." 

As  soon  as  Ulysses  was  safe  on  board  ship,  and 
had  thrust  out  from  land,  he  called  back  his  real 
name  to  the  giant,  whom  he  saw  sitting  on  the 
stone  outside  his  cave.  Polyphemus  and  the  other 
Cyclops  returned  by  hurling  rocks  at  the  ship,  but 
none  touched  it,  and  Ulysses  reached  his  fleet 
safely.  This  adventure,  however,  had  made  Nep- 
tune his  bitter  foe,  and  how  could  he  sail  on  Nep- 
tune's realm  ? 

However,  he  next  came  to  the  Isle  of  the  Winds, 
which  floated  about  in  the  ocean,  and  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  brazen  wall.  Here  dwelt  iEolus, 
with  his  wife  and  sons  and  daughters,  and  Ulysses 
stayed  with  him  a  whole  month.     At  the  end  of  it, 


The    Wanderings  of  Ulysses.  105 

jEolus  gave  Ulysses  enough  of  each  wind,  tied  up 
in  separate  bags,  to  take  him  safely  home  ;  but  his 
crew  fancied  there  was  treasure  in  them,  and  while 
he  was  asleep  opened  all  the  bags  at  once,  and  the 
winds  bursting  out  tossed  all  the  ships,  and  then 
carried  them  back  to  the  island,  where  iEolus  de- 
clared that  Ulysses  must  be  a  wretch  forsaken  of 
the  gods,  and  would  give  him  no  more. 

Six  days  later  the  fleet  came  to  another  cannibal 
island,  that  of  the  Lsestrygonians,  where  the  crews 
of  all  the  ships,  except  that  of  the  king  himself, 
were  caught  and  eaten  up,  and  he  alone  escaped, 
and,  still  proceeding  westward,  came  to  another 
isle,  belonging  to  Circe,  the  witch  goddess,  daughter 
to  Helios.  The  comrades  of  Ulysses,  whom  he  had 
sent  to  explore,  did  not  return,  and  he  was  himself 
landing  in  search  of  them,  when  Mercury  appeared 
to  him,  and  warned  him  that,  if  he  tasted  of  the 
bowl  she  would  offer  him,  he  would,  like  his  friends, 
be  changed  by  her  into  a  hog,  unless  .he  fortified 
himself  with,  the  plant  named  moly — a  white- 
flowered,  starry  sort  of  garlic,  which  Mercury  gave 
him.  Ulysses  then  made  his  way  through  a  wood 
to  the  hall  where  Circe  sat,  waited  on  by  four 
nymphs.  She  received  him  courteously,  offered 
him  her  cup,  and  so  soon  as  he  had  drunk  of  it  she 


106  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

struck  him  with  her  wand,  and  bade  him  go  grunt 
with  his  fellows;  but  as,  thanks  to  the  moly,  he 
stood  unchanged  before  her,  he  drew  his  sword  a^id 
made  her  swear  to  do  him  no  hurt,  and  to  restore 
his  companions  to  their  proper  form.  Then  they 
made  friends,  and  he  stayed  with  her  a  whole  year. 
She  told  him  that  he  was  fated  not  to  return  home 
till  he  had  first  visited  the  borders  of  the  world  of 
Pluto,  and  consulted  Tiresias,  the  blind  prophet. 
She  told  him  what  to  do,  and  he  went  on  beyond 
the  Mediterranean  into  the  outer  ocean,  to  the  land 
of  gloom,  where  Helios,  the  sun,  does  not  shine. 
Here  Ulysses  dug  a  pit,  into  which  he  poured 
water,  wine,  and  the  blood  of  a  great  black  ram, 
and  there  flocked  up  to  him  crowds  of  shades, 
eager  to  drink  of  it,  and  to  converse  with  him.  All 
his  own  friends  were  there  —  Achilles,  Ajax,  and, 
to  his  surprise,  Agamemnon — all  very  melancholy, 
and  mourning  for  the  realms  of  day.  His  mother 
who  had  died  of  grief  for  his  absence,  came  and 
blessed  him  ;  and  Tiresias  warned  him  of  Neptune's 
anger,  and  of  his  other  dangers,  ere  he  should 
return  to  Ithaca.  Terror  at  the  ghastly  troop  over- 
came him  at  last,  and  he  fled  and  embarked  again, 
saw  Circe  once  more,  and  found  himself  in  the  sea 
by  which  the  Argo  had  returned.     The  Sirens'  Isle 


The    Wanderings  of  Ulysses.  107 

was  near,  and  to  prevent  the  perils  of  their  song,  Ulys- 
ses stopped  the  ears  of  all  his  crew  with  wax,  and 
though  he  left  his  own  open,  bade  them  lash  him  to 
the  mast,  and  not  heed  all  his  cries  and  struggles  to 
be  loosed.  Thus  he  was  the  only  person  who  ever 
heard   the    Sirens'    song   and   lived.     Scylla   and 


ULYSSES    TIED    TO    THE    MAST. 


Charybdis  came  next,  and,  being  warned  by  Pallas, 
he  thought  it  better  to  lose  six  than  all,  and  so 
went  nearest  to  the  monster,  whose  six  mouths  at 
once  fell  on  six  of  the  crew,  and  tore  them  away. 
The  isle  of  Trinacria  was  pasture  for  the  360  cattle 
of  Helios,  and  both  Tiresias  and  Circe  had  warned 
Ulysses  that  they  must  not  be  touched.     He  would 


108  Young  Folks'  History  of  Crreeee. 

fain  have  passed  it  by,  but  his  crew  insisted  on 
landing  for  the  night,  making  oath  not  to  touch 
the  herds.  At  dawn  such  a  wind  arose  that  they 
could  not  put  to  sea  for  a  month,  and  after  eating 
up  the  stores,  and  living  on  birds  and  fish,  they 
took  some  of  the  oxen  when  Ulysses  was  asleep, 
vowing  to  build  a  temple  to  Helios  in  recompense. 
They  were  dismayed  at  seeing  the  hides  of  the 
slain  beasts  creep  on  the  ground,  and  at  hearing 
their  flesh  low  as  it  boiled  in  the  cauldron.  Indeed, 
Helios  had  gone  to  Jupiter,  and  threatened  to  stop 
his  chariot  unless  he  had  his  revenge ;  so  as  soon  as 
the  wretched  crew  embarked  again  a  storm  arose, 
the  ship  was  struck  by  lightning,  and  Ulysses  alone 
was  saved  from  the  wreck,  floating  on  the  mast. 
He  came  back  past  Scylla  and  Charybdis,  and, 
clinging  to  the  fig  tree  which  hung  over  the  latter, 
avoided  being  sucked  into  the  whirlpool,  and  by- 
and-by  came  to  land  in  the  island  of  the  nymph 
Calypso,  who  kept  him  eight  years,  but  he  pined 
for  home  all  the  time,  and  at  last  built  a  raft  on 
which  to  return.  Neptune  was  not  weary  of  per- 
secuting him,  and  raised  another  storm,  which  shat- 
tered the  raft,  and  threw  Ulysses  on  the  island  of 
Scheria.  Here  the  king's  fair  daughter  Nausicaa, 
going   down   to  the   stream   with   her  maidens  to 


ULYSSES   BENDS    HIS   BOW. 


The    Wanderings  of  Ulysses.  Ill 

wash  their  robes,  met  the  shipwrecked  stranger,  and 
took  him  home.  Her  father  feasted  him  hospitably, 
and  sent  him  home  in  a  ship,  which  landed  him  on 
the  coast  of  Ithaca  fast  asleep,  and  left  him  there. 
He  had  been  absent  twenty  years;  and  Pallas 
further  disguised  his  aspect,  so  that  he  looked  like 
a  beggar,  when,  in  order  to  see  how  matters  stood, 
he  made  his  way  first  to  the  hut  of  his  trusty  old 
swineherd  Eumseus. 

Nothing  could  be  worse  than  things  were.  More 
than  a  hundred  young  chiefs  of  the  Ionian  isles 
had  taken  possession  of  his  palace,  and  were  daily 
revelling  there,  thrusting  his  son  Telemachus  aside, 
and  insisting  that  Penelope  should  choose  one  of 
them  as  her  husband.  She  could  only  put  them 
off  by  declaring  she  could  wed  no  one  till  she  had 
finished  the  winding-sheet  she  was  making  for  old 
Laerses,  her  father-in-law;  while  to  prevent  its 
coming  to  an  end  she  undid  by  night  whatever  she 
wove  by  day.  Telemachus  had  gone  to  seek  his 
father,  but  came  home  baffled  to  Eumseus'  hut, 
and  there  was  allowed  to  recognize  Ulysses  But 
it  was  as  a  beggar,  broken-down,  and  foot-sore,  that 
Ulysses  sought  his  palace.  zzA  none  -knew  hffi 
there  but  his  poor  dog  Argus,  who  licked  his 
feet,  and  died  for  joy.     The  suitors,  in  their  pride, 


112  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

made  game  of  the  poor  stranger,  but  Penelope  sent 
for  him,  in  case  he  brought  news  of  her  husband. 
Even  to  her  he  told  a  feigned  story,  but  she  bade 
the  old  nurse  Euryclea  take  care  of  him,  and  wash 
his  feet.  While  doing  so,  the  old  woman  knew 
him  by  a  scar  left  by  the  tusk  of  a  wild  boar  long 
ago,  and  Ulysses  could  hardly  stifle  her  cry  of  joy ; 
but  she  told  him  all,  and  who  could  be  trusted 
(among  the  slaves.  The  plans  were  fixed.  Tele- 
machus,  with  much  difficulty,  persuaded  his  mother 
to  try  to  get  rid  of  the  suitors  by  promising  to  wed 
him  only  who  could  bend  Ulysses'  bow.  One  after 
another  tried  in  vain,  and  then,  amid  their  sneers, 
the  beggar  took  it  up,  and  bent  it  easily,  hit  the 
mark,  and  then  aimed  it  against  them !  They 
were  all  at  the  banquet-table  in  the  hall.  Eumeeus 
and  the  other  faithful  servants  had  closed  all  the 
doors,  and  removed  all  the  arms,  and  there  was  a 
terrible  slaughter  both  of  these  oppressors  and  the 
servants  who  had  joined  with  them  against  their 
queen  and  her  son. 

After  this,  Ulysses  made  himself  known  to  his 
wife,  and  visited  his  father,  who  had  long  retired  to 
his  beautiful  garden..  The  kindred  of  the  suitors 
would  have  made  war  on  him,  but  Pallas  pacified 


The    Wanderings  of  Ulysses. 


113 


them,  and  the  Odyssey  leaves  him  to  spend  his  old 
age  in  Ithaca,  and  die  a  peaceful  death.  He  was 
just  what  the  Greeks  thought,  a  thoroughly  brave 
and  wise  man ;  for  they  had  no  notion  that  there 
was  any  sin  in  falsehood  and  double-dealing. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE   DOOM   OF   THE   ATE1DES. 

YOU  remember  that  Ulysses  met  Agamemnon 
among  the  other  ghosts.  The  King  of  Men, 
as  the  Iliad  calls  him,  had  vast  beacons  lighted 
from  isle  to  isle,  and  from  cape  to  cape,  to  announce 
that  Troy  was  won,  and  that  he  was  on  his  way 
home,  little  knowing  what  a  welcome  was  in  store 
for  him. 

His  wife,  Clytemnestra  had  forgiven  him  for  the 
loss  of  Iphigenia,  and  had  listened  to  his  cousin 
JEgisthus,  who  wanted  to  marry  her.  She  came 
forth  and  received  Agamemnon  with  apparent  joy, 
but  his  poor  captive  Cassandra  wailed  aloud,  and 
would  not  cross  the  threshold,  saying  it  streamed 
with  blood,  and  that  this  was  a  house  of  slaughter. 
No  one  listened  to  her,  and  Agamemnon  was  led  to 

the  bath  to  refresh   himself  after  the  journey.     A 

114 


The  Doom  of  the  Atrides.  115 

new  embroidered  robe  lay  ready  for  him,  but  the 
sleeves  were  sewn  up  at  the  wrists,  and  while  he 
could  not  get  his  hands  free,  ^Egisthus  fell  on  him 
and  slew  him,  and  poor  Cassandra  likewise. 

His  daughter  Electra,  fearing  that  her  young 
brother  Orestes  would  not  be  safe  since  he  was  the 
right  heir  of  the  kingdom,  sent  him  secretly  away 
to  Phocis,  where  the  king  bred  him  up  with  his 
own  son  Pylades,  and  the  two  youths  loved  each 
other  as  much  as  Achilles  and  Patroclus  had  done. 

It  was  the  bounden  duty  of  a  son  to  be  the 
avenger  of  his  father's  blood,  and  after  eight  years, 
as  soon  as  Orestes  was  a  grown  warrior,  he  went 
with  his  friend  in  secret  to  Mycenae,  and  offered  a 
lock  of  his  hair  on  his  father's  tomb.  Electra, 
coming  out  with  her  offerings,  found  these  tokens, 
and  knew  that  he  was  near.  He  made  himself 
known,  and  she  admitted  him  into  the  house,  where 
he  fulfilled  his  stern  charge,  and  killed  both  Cly- 
temnestra  and  ^Egisthus,  then  celebrated  their 
funeral  rites  with  all  due  solemnity. 

This  was  on  the  very  day  that  Menelaus  and 
Helen  returned  home.  They  had  been  shipwrecked 
first  in  Egypt,  where  they  spent  eight  years,  and 
then  were  held  by  contrary  winds  on  a  little  isle  on 
the  coast  of  Egypt,  where  they  would   have   been 


116  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

starved  if  Menelaus  had  not  managed  to  capture 
the  old  sea-god  Proteus,  when  he  came  up  to  pas- 
ture his  flock  of  seals  on  the  beach,  and  holding 
him  tight,  while  he  changed  into  every  kind  of 
queer  shape,  forced  him  at  last  to  speak.  By  Pro- 
teus' advice,  Menelaus  returned  to  Egypt,  and 
made  the  sacrifices  to  the  gods  he  had  forgotten 
before,  after  which  he  safely  reached  Sparta,  on  the 
day  of  Clytemnestra's  obsequies.  Just  as  they 
were  ended,  the  Furies,  the  avengers  of  crime,  fell 
upon  Orestes  for  having  slain  his  mother.  He  fled 
in  misery  from  Mycenae,  Avhich  Menelaus  took 
into  his  own  hands,  while  the  wretched  Orestes 
went  from  place  to  place,  still  attended  and  com- 
forted by  faithful  Pylades,  but  he  never  tried  to 
rest  without  being  again  beset  by  the  Furies.  At 
last  Apollo,  or  the  oracle  at  Delphi,  sent  him  to 
take  his  trial  at  the  court  of  justice  at  Athens, 
called  Areopagus,  Ares'  (or  Mars')  Hill,  after 
which  the  oracle  bade  him  fetch  the  image  of  Diana 
from  Tauris,  marry  his  cousin  Hermione,  the 
daughter  of  Menelaus  and  Helen,  and  recover  his 
father's  kingdom. 

Pallas  Athene  came  down  to  preside  at  Areop- 
agus, and  directed  the  judges  to  pronounce  that, 
though  the  slaying  of  a  mother  was  a  fearful  crime, 


The  Doom  of  the  Atrides.  117 

yet  it  was  Orestes'  duty  to  avenge  his  father's 
death.  He  was  therefore  acquitted,  and  purified 
by  sacrifice,  and  was  no  more  haunted  by  the 
Furies,  while  with  Pylades  he  sailed  for  Tauris. 
In  that  inhospitable  place  it  was  the  custom  to 
sacrifice  all  strangers  to  Diana,  and,  as  soon  as  they 
had  landed,  Orestes  and  Pylades  were  seized,  and 
taken  to  the  priestess  at  the  temple,  that  their  hair 
might  be  cut  and  their  brows  wreathed  for  the 
sacrifice.  The  priestess  was  no  other  that  Iphi- 
genia,  who  had  been  snatched  away  from  Aulis, 
and,  when  she  and  the  brother,  whom  she  had  left 
an  infant,  found  each  other  out,  she  contrived  to 
leave  the  temple  by  night,  carrying  the  image  of 
Diana  with  her.  They  went  to  Delphi  together, 
and  there  Iphigenia  met  Electra,  who  had  heard  a 
false  report  that  her  beloved  Orestes  had  been 
sacrificed  by  the  priestess  of  Tauris,  and  was  just 
going  to  tear  out  her  eyes,  when  Orestes  appeared, 
and  the  sisters  were  made  known  to  each  other. 
A  temple  was  built  for  the  image  near  Marathon, 
in  Attica,  and  Iphigenia  spent  the  rest  of  her  life  as 
priestess  there.  Orestes,  in  the  meantime,  married 
Hermione  —  after,  as  some  say,  killing  Pyrrhus, 
the  son  of  Achilles,  to  whom  she  was  either  prom- 
ised or  married  —  and  reigned  over  both  Mycenae 


118  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

and  Sparta  until  the  hundred  years'  truce  with  the 
Heracleids,  or  grandsons  of  Hercules,  had  come  to 
an  end,  and  they  returned  with  a  party  of  Dorians 
and  conquered  Sparta,  eighty  years  after  the  Trojan 
Avar. 

This  is  the  last  of  the  events  of  the  age  of  heroes, 
when  so  much  must  be  fable,  though  there  may  be 
a  germ  of  historical  truth  which  no  one  can  make 
out  among  the  old  tales  that  had  come  from  the 
East,  and  the  like  of  which  may  be  found  among 
the  folk-lore  of  all  nations.  These  are  the  most 
famous  of  the  stories,  because  they  joined  all 
Greeks  together,  and  were  believed  in  by  all 
Greeks  alike  in  their  main  circumstances ;  but 
every  state  had  its  own  story,  and  one  or  two  may 
be  told  before  we  end  this  chapter  of  myths,  be- 
cause they  are  often  heard  of,  and  poetry  has  been 
written  about  some  of  them. 

•  At  Thebes,  in  Bceotia,  the  king,  Laius,  was  told 
that  his  first  child  would  be  Ms  death.  So  as  soon 
as  it  was  born  he  had  its  ancles  pierced,  and  put 
out  in  a  wood  to  die  ;  but  it  was  found  by  a  shep- 
herd, and  brought  to  Corinth,  where  the  queen 
named  it  CEdipus,  or  Swollen  Feet,  and  bred  it  up 
as  her  own  child.  Many  years  later  (Edipus  set 
out  for  the  Delphic  oracle,  to  ask  who  he  was ;  but 


The  Doom  of  the  Atrides.  119 

all  the  answer  he  received  was  that  he  must  shun 
his  native  land,  for  he  would  be  the  slayer  of  his 
own  father.  He  therefore  resolved  not  to  return  to 
Corinth,  but  on  his  journey  he  met  in  a  narrow 
pass  with  a  chariot  going  to  Delphi.  A  quarrel 
arose,  and  in  the  fight  that  followed  he  slew  the 
man  to  whom  the  chariot  belonged,  little  knowing 
that  it  was  Laius,  his  own  father. 

He  then  went  on  through  Boeotia.  On  the  top 
of  a  hill  near  Thebes  sat  a  monster  called  the 
Sphinx,  with  a  woman's  head,  a  lion's  body,  and  an 
eagle's  wings.  She  had  been  taught  riddles  by  the 
Muses,  and  whoever  failed  to  answer  them  she  de- 
voured upon  the  spot.  Whoever  could  answer  her 
was  to  marry  the  king's  sister,  and  share  the  king- 
dom. (Edipus  went  bravely  up  to  her,  and  heard 
her  question,  u  What  is  the  animal  that  is  at  first 
four-legged,  then  two-legged,  then  three-legged?" 
"Man,"  cried  (Edipus.  "He  creeps  as  a  babe  on 
all-fours,  walks  upright  in  his  prime,  and  uses  a 
staff  in  his  old  age."  Thereupon  the  Sphinx  turned 
to  stone,  and  (Edipus  married  the  princess,  and 
reigned  many  years,  till  there  was  a  famine  and 
pestilence,  and  the  oracle  was  asked  the  cause.  It 
answered  that  the  land  must  be  purified  from  the 
blood  of  Laius.     Only  then  did  (Edipus  find  out 


120  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

that  it  was  Laius  whom  he  had  slain ;  and  then,  by 
the  marks  on  his  ancles,  it  was  proved  that  he  was 
the  babe  who  had  been  exposed,  so  that  he  had 
fulfilled  his  fate,  and  killed  his  own  father.  To 
save  Thebes,  he  left  the  country,  with  his  eyes  put 
out  by  way  of  expiation,  and  wandered  about,  only 
attended  by  his  faithful  daughter  Antigone,  till  he 
came  to  Athens,  where,  like  Orestes,  he  was  shel- 
tered, and  allowed  to  expiate  his  crime.  After  his 
death,  Antigone  came  back  to  Thebes,  where  her 
two  brothers  Eteocles  and  Polynices  had  agreed  to 
reign  each  a  year  by  turns;  but  when  Eteocles' 
year  was  over  he  would  not  give  up  to  his  brother, 
and  Polynices,  in  a  rage,  collected  friends,  among 
whom  were  six  great  chiefs,  and  attacked  Thebes. 
In  the  battle  called  "the  Seven  Chiefs  against 
Thebes,"  all  were  slain,  and  Eteocles  and  Polynices 
fell  by  each  other's  hands.  Their  uncle  Creon  for- 
bade that  the  bodies  of  men  who  had  so  ruined 
their  country  should  receive  funeral  honors  from 
anyone  on  pain  of  death,  thus  condemning  their 
shades  to  the  dreary  flitting  about  on  the  banks  of 
the  Styx,  so  much  dreaded.  But  their  sister  Anti- 
gone, the  noblest  woman  of  Greek  imagination, 
dared  the  peril,  stole  forth  at  night,  and  gave 
burial  alone  to  her  two  brothers.     She  was  found 


The  Doom  of  the  Atrides.  121 

out,  and  put  to  death  for  her  sisterly  devotion, 
though  Creon's  own  son  killed  himself  for  grief  and 
love  of  her.  This  happened  in  the  generation 
before  the  Trojan  war,  for  Tydeus,  the  father  of 
Diomed,  was  one  of  the  seven  chiefs. 

Macedon,  the  country  northward  of  Greece,  had 
one  very  droll  legend.  Midas,  king  of  the  Bryges, 
at  the  foot  of  Mount  Bermion,  had  a  most  beautiful 
garden,  full  of  all  kinds  of  fruit.  This  was  often 
stolen,  until  he  watched,  and  found  the  thief  was 
old  Silenus,  the  tutor  of  Bacchus.  Thereupon  he 
filled  with  wine  the  fount  where  Silenus  was  used 
to  drink  after  Ins  feast,  and  thus,  instead  of  going 
away,  the  old  god  fell  asleep,  and  Midas  caught 
him,  and  made  him  answer  all  his  questions.  One 
was,  "What  is  the  best  for  man?"  and  the  answer 
was  very  sad,  "What  is  best  for  man  is  never  to 
have  been  born.  The  second  best  is  to  die  as  soon 
as  may  be."  At  last  Silenus  was  released,  on  con- 
dition that  he  would  grant  one  wish,  and  this  was 
that  all  that  Midas  touched  should  turn  to  gold ; 
and  so  it  did,  clothes,  food,  and  everything  the 
king  took  hold  of  became  solid  gold,  so  that  he 
found  himself  starving,  and  entreated  that  the  gift 
might  be  taken  away.  So  he  was  told  to  bathe  in 
the  river  Pactolus,  in  Lydia,  and  the  sands  became 


122  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

full  of  gold  dust ;  but,  in  remembrance  of  his  folly, 
his  ears  grew  long  like  those  of  a  donkey.  He  hid 
them  by  wearing  a  tall  Phrygian  cap,  and  no  one 
knew  of  them  but  his  barber,  who  was  told  he 
should  be  put  to  death  if  ever  he  mentioned  these 
ears.  The  barber  was  so  haunted  by  the  secret, 
that  at  last  he  could  not  help  relieving  himself,  by 
going  to  a  clump  of  reeds  and  whispering  into  them, 
"King  Midas  has  the  ears  of  an  ass;"  and  when- 
ever the  wind  rustled  in  the  reeds,  those  who  went 
by  might  always  hear  them  in  turn  whisper  to  one 
another,  "King  Midas  has  the  ears  of  an  ass." 
Some  accounts  say  that  it  was  for  saying  that  Pan 
was  a  better  musician  than  Apollo  that  Midas  had 
his  ass's  ears,  and  that  it  was  Lyclia  of  which  he 
was  king ;  and  this  seems  most  likely,  for  almost  as 
many  Greeks  lived  in  the  borders  of  Asia  Minor 
as  lived  in  Greece  itself,  and  there  were  many 
stories  of  the  hills,  cities  and  rivers  there,  but  I 
have  only  told  you  what  is  more  needful  to  be 
known — not,  of  course,  to  be  believed,  but  to  be 
known. 


CHAPTER    XII. 


AFTER   THE   HEROIC   AGE. 


ALL  these  heroes  of  whom  we  have  been  tell- 
ing lived,  if  they  lived  at  all,  about  the  time 
of  the  Judges  of  Israel.  Troy  is  thought  to  have 
been  taken  at  the  time  that  Saul  was  reigning  in 
Israel,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  there  once  was  a 
city  between  Mount  Ida  and  the  iEgean  Sea,  for 
quantities  of  remains  have  Been  dug  up,  and  among 
them  many  rude  earthenware  images  of  an  owl,  the 
emblem  of  Pallas  Athene,  likenesses  perhaps  of  the 
Palladium.  Hardly  anything  is  told  either  false  or 
true  of  Greece  for  three  hundred  years  after  this 
time,  and  when  something  more  like  history  begins 
we  find  that  all  Greece,  small  as  it  is,  was  divided 
into  very  small  states,  each  of  which  had  a  chief 
city  and  a  government  of  its  own,  and  was  gene- 
rally shut  in  from  its  neighbors  by  mountains  or  by 
123 


124  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

sea.  There  were  the  three  tribes,  Ionian,  Dorian, 
and  iEolian,  dwelling  in  these  little  states,  and, 
though  they  often  quarreled  among  themselves,  all 
thinking  themselves  one  nation,  together  with  their 
kindred  in  the  islands  of  the  JEgean,  on  the  coasts 
of  Asia,  and  also  in  Sicily  and  Southern  Italy, 
which  was  sometimes  called  the  Greater  Greece. 

Some  time  between  the  heroic  age  and  the  his- 
torical time,  there  had  been  a  great  number  of  songs 
and  verses  composed  telling  of  the  gods  and  heroes. 
Singers  and  poets  used  to  be  entertained  by  the 
kings,  and  sometimes  to  wander  from  one  place  to 
another,  welcomed  by  all,  as  they  chanted  to  the 
harp  or  the  lyre  the  story  of  the  great  forefathers 
of  their  hosts,  especially  when  they  had  all  joined 
together,  as  in  the  hunt  of  the  great  boar  of  Caly- 
don,  in  the  voyage  for  the  Golden  Fleece,  and, 
above  all,  in  the  Siege  of  Troy.  The  greatest  of 
all  these  singers  was  the  blind  poet  Homer,  whose 
songs  of  the  wrath  of  Achilles  and  the  wanderings 
of  Ulysses  were  loved  and  learnt  by  everyone. 
Seven  different  cities  claimed  to  be  his  birth-place, 
but  no  one  knows  more  about  him  than  that  he 
was  blind  —  not  even  exactly  when  he  lived  —  but 
his  poems  did  much  to  make  the  Greeks  hold  to- 
gether. 


After  the  Heroic  Age.  125 

And  so  did  their  religion.  Everybody  sent  to 
ask  questions  of  the  oracle  of  Apollo  at  Delphi, 
and  there  really  were  answers  to  them,  though  no 
one  can  tell  by  what  power.  And  at  certain  times 
there  were  great  festivals  at  certain  shrines.  One 
was  at  Olympia,  in  Elis,  where  there  was  a  great 
festival  every  five  years.  It  was  said  that  Hercu- 
les, when  a  little  bo}^,  had  here  won  a  foot  race 
with  his  brothers,  and  when  the  Heracleids  re- 
turned to  Sparta  they  founded  a  feast,  with  games 
for  all  the  Greeks  to  contend  in.  There  were 
chariot  races,  horse  races,  foot  races,  boxing  and 
wrestling  matches,  throwing  weights,  playing  with 
quoits,  singing  and  reciting  of  poems.  The  win- 
ner was  rewarded  with  a  wreath  of  bay,  of  pine,  of 
parsley,  or  the  like,  and  he  wore  such  an  one  as 
his  badge  of  honor  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  Nothing 
was  thought  more  of  than  being  first  in  the  Olym- 
pic games,  and  the  Greeks  even  came  to  make  them 
their  measure  of  time,  saying  that  any  event  hap- 
pened in  such  and  such  a  year  of  such  an  Olym- 
piad. The  first  Olympiad  they  counted  from 
was  the  year  776  B.C.,  that  is,  before  the  coming 
of  our  blessed  Lord.  There  were  other  games 
every  three  years,  which  Theseus  was  said  to  have 
instituted,  on  the   isthmus   of  Corinth,  called  the 


126  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

Isthmean  Games,  and  others  in  two  different 
places,  and  no  honor  was  more  highly  esteemed 
than  success  in  these. 

There  were  also  councils  held  of  persons  chosen 
from  each  tribe,  called  Amphictyons,  for  arranging 
their  affairs,  both  religious  and  worldly,  and  one 
great  Amphictyonic  council,  which  met  near  Del- 
phi, to  discuss  the  affairs  of  all  Greece.  In  truth, 
all  the  great  nations  who  long  ago  parted  in  Asia 
have  had  somewhat  the  same  arrangement.  A 
f amity  grew  first  into  a  clan,  then  into  a  tribe,  then 
into  a  nation,  and  the  nation  that  settled  in  one 
country  formed  fresh  family  divisions  of  clans, 
tribes,  and  families.  At  first  the  family  of  a  father 
would  take  council  with  the  sons,  the  head  of  a 
clan  with  the  fathers  of  families,  the  chief  of  a  tribe 
with  the  heads  of  clans,  and  as  these  heads  of 
clans  grew  into  little  kings,  the  ablest  of  them 
would  lead  the  nation  in  time  of  war,  as  Agamem- 
non did  the  chiefs  against  Troy.  However,  the 
Greeks  seem  for  the  most  part,  between  the  heroic 
and  the  historical  ages,  to  have  dropped  the  king 
or  chief  of  each  state,  and  only  to  have  managed 
them  by  various  councils  of  the  chief  heads  of 
families,  who  were  called  aristoi,  the  best,  while 
those  who  were  not   usually  called   into  council, 


ffinnHi 


c^j 


DIAGORAS   AND   HIS   SONS. 


After  the  Heroic  Age.  129 

though  they  too  were  free,  and  could  choose  their 
governors,  and  vote  in  great  matters,  were  termed 
demos,  the  people.  This  is  why  we  hear  of  aris- 
tocracy and  democracy.  Under  these  freemen 
were  the  people  of  the  country  they  had  conquered, 
or  any  slaves  they  had  bought  or  taken  captive,  or 
strangers  who  had  come  to  live  in  the  place,  and 
these  had  no  rights  at  all.     > 

Greek  cities  were  generally  beautiful  places,  in 
valleys  between  the  hills  and  the  sea.  They  were 
sure  to  have  several  temples  to  the  gods  of  the 
place.  These  were  colonnades  of  stone-pillars, 
upon  steps,  open  all  round,  but  with  a  small  dark 
cell  in  the  middle,  which  was  the  shrine  of  the  god, 
whose  statue,  and  carvings  of  whose  adventures, 
adorned  the  outside.  There  was  an  altar  in  the 
open-air  for  sacrifices,  the  flesh  of  which  was  after- 
wards eaten.  In  the  middle  of  a  town  was  always 
a  market-place,  which  served  as  the  assembling- 
place  of  the  people,  and  it  had  a  building  attached 
to  it  where  the  fire  of  Vesta  was  never  allowed  to 
go  out.  The  charge  of  it  was  given  to  the  best 
men  who  could  be  found ;  and  when  a  set  of  cit- 
izens went  forth  to  make  a  new  home  or  colony  in 
Asia,  Sicily,  or  Italy,  they  always  took  brands 
from  this  fire,  guarded  them  carefully  in  a  censer, 


130 


Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 


and  lighted  their  altar-fires  therefrom  when  they 
settled  down. 

These  cities  were  of  houses  built  round  paved 
courts.  The  courts  had  generally  a  fountain  in  the 
middle,  and  an  altar  to  the  hero  forefather  of  the 
master,  where,  before  each  meal,  offerings  were 
made  and  wine  poured  out.  The  rooms  were  very 
small,  and  used  for  little  but  sleeping ;  and  the 


GREEK    INTERIOR. 


men  lived  chiefly  in  the  cloister  or  pillared  walks 
round  the  court.  There  was  a  kind  of  back  court 
for  the  women  of  the  family,  who  did  not  often 
appear  in  the  front  one,  though  they  were  not  shut 
up  like  Eastern  women.  Most  Greeks  had  farms, 
which  they  worked  by  the  help  of  their  slaves, 


After  the  Heroic  Age. 


131 


and  whence  came  the  meat,  corn,  wine,  and  milk 
that  maintained  the  family.  The  women  spun  the 
wool  of  the  sheep,  wove  and  embroidered  it,  making 
for  the  men  short  tunics  reaching  to  the  knee, 
with  a  longer  mantle  for  dig- 
nity or  for  need ;  and  for 
themselves  long  robes  reach- 
ing to  the  feet  —  a  modest  and 
graceful  covering  —  but  leav- 
ing the  arms  bare.  Men  cut 
their  hair  close  ;  women  folded 
their  tresses  round  their  heads 
in  the  simplest  and  most  be- 
coming manner  that  has  yet 
been  invented.  The  feet  were 
bare,  but  sandalled,  and  the 
sandals  fastened  with  orna- 
mented thongs.  Against  the 
sun  sometimes  a  sort  of  hat  was  worn,  or  the  man- 
tle was  put  over  the  head,  and  women  had  thick 
veils  wrapping  them. 

In  time  of  war  the  armor  was  a  helmet  with  a 
horse-hair  crest,  a  breast-plate  on  a  leathern  cuirass, 
which  had  strips  of  leather  hanging  from  the  lower 
edge  as  far  down  as  the  knee ;  sometimes  greaves 
to  guard  the  leathern  buskin ;  a  round  shield  of 


GREEK   ROBE. 


132  Young  Folks'  History  of  G-reece, 


leather,  faced  with  metal,  and  often  beautifully  or- 
namented ;  and  also  spears,  swords,  daggers,  and 
sometimes  bows  and  arrows.  Chariots  for  war  had 
been  left  off  since  the  heroic  times  ;  indeed  Greece 
was  so  hilly  that  horses  were  not  very  much  used 
in  battle,  though  riding  was  part  of  the  training  of 
a  Greek,  and  the  Thessalian  horses  were  much 
valued.  Every  state  that  had  a  sea-board  had  its 
fleet  of  galleys,  with  benches  of  oars ;  but  the 
Greek  sailors  seldom  ventured  out  of  sight  of  land, 
and  all  that  Greece  or  Asia  Minor  did  not  produce 
was  brought  by  the  Phoenicians,  the  great  sailors, 
merchants,  and  slave-dealers  of  the  Old  World. 
They  brought  Tyrian  purple,  gold 
of  Ophir,  silver  of  Spain,  tin  of 
Gaul  and  Britain,  ivory  from  In- 
dia, and  other  such  luxuries ;  and 
they  also  bought  captives  in  war, 
or  kidnapped  children  on  the  coast, 
and  sold  them  as  slaves.  Ulysses' 
faithful  swineherd  was  such  a  slave, 
and  of  royal  birth ;  and  such  was 
the  lot  of  many  an  Israelite  child, 
for  whom  its  parents'  "  eyes  failed 
with  looking  and  longing." 

The  Greeks  had  more  power  of 


MALE    COSTUME. 


After  the  Heroic  Age.  133 

thought  and  sense  of  grace  than  any  other  people 
have  ever  had.  They  always  had  among  them  men 
seeking  for  truth  and  beauty.  The  truth-seekers 
were  called  philosophers,  or  lovers  of  wisdom. 
They  were  always  trying  to  understand  about  God 
and  man,  and  this  world,  and  guessing  at  some- 
thing great,  far  beyond'  the  stories  of  Jupiter  ;  and 
they  used  to  gather  young  men  round  them  under 
the  pillared  porches  and  talk  over  these  thoughts, 
or  write  them  in  beautiful  words.  Almost  all  the 
sciences  began  with  the  Greeks ;  their  poems  and 
their  histories  are  wonderfully  written ;  and  they 
had  such  great  men  among  them  that,  though  most 
of  their  little  states  were  smaller  than  an  ordinary 
English  county,  and  the  whole  of  them  together 
do  not  make  a  country  as  large  as  Ireland,  their 
history  is  the  most  remarkable  in  the  world,  ex- 
cept that  of  the  Jews.  The  history  of  the  Jews 
shows  what  God  does  for  men ;  the  history  of 
Greece  shows  what  man  does  left  to  himself. 

Greece  was   not   so    small    as   what    is    called 
Greece   now    in  our   modern   maps.      It  reached 

northwards  as   far   as   the  Volutza   and   Khimera 

* 

mountains,  beyond  which  lay  Macedon,  where  the 
people  called  themselves  Greeks,  but  were  not  quite 


134  Young  Folks*  History  of  Greece. 

accepted  as  such.  In  this  peninsula,  together  with 
the  Peloponnesus  and  the  isles,  there  were  twenty 
little  states,  making  up  Hellas,  or  Greece.* 

*  Tkessaly,  Epirus,  Acarnania,  iEtolia,  Doris,  two  Locrian 
states,  Phocis,  Boeotia,  Attica,  Megaris —  Corinth,  Sicyon, 
Phliasia,  Achaia,  Elis,  Arcadia,  Argolis,  Laconia,  Messenia. 


A   FUNEKAL  FEAST. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

LYCUEGUS   AND   THE  LAWS   OF   SPARTA. 
B.C.  884  —  668. 

YOU  remember  that  after  a  hundred  years  the 
grandsons  of  Hercules  returned,  bringing 
with  them  their  followers  of  Dorian  birth,  and 
conquered  Laconia.  These  Dorians  called  them- 
selves Spartans,  and  were  the  rulers  of  the  land, 
though  the  Greeks,  who  were  there  before  them 
were  also  freemen,  all  but  those  of  one  city,  called 
Helos,  which  revolted,  and  was  therefore  broken 
up,  and  the  people  were  called  Helots,  and  became 
slaves  to  the  Spartans.  One  of  the  Spartan  kings, 
sons  of  Hercules,  had  twin  sons,  and  these  two 
reigned  together  with  equal  rights,  and  so  did  their 
sons  after  them,  so  that  there  were  always  two 

kings  at  Sparta.     One  line'  was  called  the  Agids, 
135 


136  Young  Folks    History  of  Greece. 

from  Agis,  its  second  king ;  the  other  Eurypontids, 
jrom  Eurypon,  its  third  king,  instead  of  from  the 
two  original  twins. 

The  affairs  of  Sparta  had  fallen  into  a  corrupt 
state  by  the  third  generation  after  Enrypon.  The 
king  of  his  line  was  killed  in  a  quarrel,  and  his 
widow,  a  wicked  woman,  offered  his  brother  Ly- 
curgus  to  kill  her  little  new-born  babe,  if  he  would 
marry  her,  that  she  might  continue  to  be  queen. 
Lycurgus  did  not  show  his  horror,  but  advised  her 
to  send  the  child  alive  to  him,  that  he  might 
dispose  of  it.  So  far  from  killing  it  was  he,  that 
he  carried  it  at  once  to  the  council,  placed  it  on 
the  throne,  and  proclaimed  it  as  Charilaus,  king  of 
Sparta. 

There  were  still  murmurs  from  those  who  did 
not  know  that  Lycurgus  had  saved  the  little  boy's 
life.  As  he  was  next  heir  to  the  throne,  it  was 
thought  that  he  must  want  to  put  Charilaus  out  of 
the  way,  so  as  to  reign  himself;  so,  having  seen  the 
boy  in  safe  keeping,  Lycurgus  went  on  his  travels 
to  study  the  laws  and  ways  of  other  countries.  He 
visited  Crete,  and  learnt  the  laws  of  Minos  ;  and, 
somewhere  among  the  Greek  settlements  in  Asia, 
he  is  said  to  have  seen  and  talked  to  Homer,  and 
heard  his  songs.     He  also  went  to  Egypt,  and  after 


Lycufgus  and  the  Laws  of  Sparta.        137 

that  to  India,  where  he  may  have  learnt  much  from 
the  old  Brahmin  philosophy ;  and  then,  having 
made  his  plan,  he  repaired  to  Delphi,  and  prayed 
until  he  received  answer  from  Apollo  that  his  laws 
should  be  the  best,  and  the  state  that  obeyed  them 
the  most  famous  in  Greece.  He  then  went  home, 
where  he  had  been  much  missed,  for  his  young 
nephew  Charilaus,  though  grown  to  man's  estate, 
was  too  weak  and  good-natured  to  be  much  obeyed, 
and  there  was  a  great  deal  of  idleness,  and  glut- 
tony, and  evil  of  all  sorts  prevailing. 

Thirty  Spartans  bound  themselves  to  help  Ly- 
curgus  in  his  reform,  and  Charilaus,  fancying  it  a 
league  against  himself,  fled  into  the  temple  of 
Pallas,  but  his  uncle  fetched  him  out,  and  told  him 
that  he  only  wanted  to  make  laws  for  making  the 
Spartans  great  and  noble.  The  rule  was  only  for 
the  real  Dorian  Spartans,  the  masters  of  the  coun- 
try, and  was  to  make  them  perfect  warriors.  First, 
then,  he  caused  all  the  landmarks  to  be  taken  up, 
and  the  lands  thrown  into  one,  which  he  divided 
again  into  lots,  each  of  which  was  large  enough  to 
yield  82  bushels  of  corn  in  a  year,  with  wine  and 
oil  in  proportion.  Then,  to  hinder  hoarding,  he 
allowed  no  money  to  be  used  in  the  country  but 
great  iron  weights,  so  that  a  small  sum  took  up 


138  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

a  great  deal  of  room,  and  could  hardly  be  carried 
about,  and  thus  there  was  no  purchasing  Phoeni- 
cian luxuries ;  nor  was  anyone  to  use  gold  or  ivory, 
soft  cushions,  carpets,  or  the  like,  as  being  un- 
worthy of  the  race  of  Hercules.  The  whole  Spartan 
nation  became,  in  fact,  a  regiment  of  highly- 
disciplined  warriors.  They  were  to  live  together 
in  public  barracks,  only  now  and  then  visiting 
their  homes,  and  even  when  they  slept  there,  being 
forbidden  to  touch  food  till  they  came  to  the 
general  meal,  which  was  provided  for  by  con- 
tributions of  meal,  cheese,  figs,  and  wine  from  each 
man's  farm,  and  a  little  money  to  buy  fish  and 
meat ;  also  a  sort  of  soup  called  black  broth,  which 
was  so  unsavory  that  nobody  but  a  Spartan  could 
eat  it,  because  it  was  said  they  brought  the  best 
sauce,  namely,  hunger.  A  boy  was  admitted  as 
soon  as  he  was  old  enough,  and  was  warned 
against  repeating  the  talk  of  his  elders,  by  being 
told  on  his  first  entrance,  by  the  eldest  man  in  the 
company,  "  Look  you,  sir  ;  nothing  said  here  goes 
out  there."  Indeed  no  one  used  more  words  than 
needful,  so  that  short,  pithy  sayings  came  to  be 
called  Laconic.  To  be  a  perfect  soldier  was  the 
great  point,  so  boys  were  taught  that  no  merit  was 
greater  than  bearing  pain  without  complaint ;  and 


Lycurgus  and  the  Laws  of  Sparta.        139 

they  carried  this  so  far,  that  a  boy  who  had 
brought  a  young  wolf  into  the  hall,  hidden  under 
his  tunic,  let  it  bite  him  even  to  death  without  a 
groan  or  cry.  It  is  said  that  they  were  trained  to 
theft,  and  were  punished,  not  for  the  stealing,  but 
the  being  found  out.  And,  above  all,  no  Spartan 
was  ever  to  turn  his  back  in  battle.  The  mothers 
gave  the  sons  a  shield,  with  the  words :  "  With  it, 
or  on  it."  The  Spartan  shields  were  long,  so  that 
a  dead  warrior  would  be  borne  home  on  his  shield ; 
but  a  man  would  not  dare  show  Ins  face  again  if  he 
had  thrown  it  away  in  flight.  The  women  were 
trained  to  running,  leaping,  and  throwing  the  bar, 
like  the  men,  and  were  taught  stern  hardihood,  so 
that,  when  their  boys  were  offered  to  the  cruel 
Diana,  they  saw  them  flogged  to  death  at  her  altar 
without  a  tear.  All  the  lives  of  the  Spartans  were 
spent  in  exercising  for  war,  and  the  affairs  of  the 
state  were  managed  not  so  much  by  the  kings,  but 
by  five  judges  called  Ephors,  who  were  chosen 
every  year,  while  the  kings  had  very  little  power. 
They  had  to  undergo  the  same  discipline  as  the 
rest — dressed,  ate,  and  lived  like  them  ;  but  they 
were  the  high  priests  and  chief  captains,  and  made 
peace  or  war. 

At  first  Lycurgus'  laws  displeased  some  of  the 


140  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

citizens  much,  and,  when  he  was  proposing  them,  a 
young  man  named  Alcander  struck  him  on  the 
face  with  his  staff,  and  put  out  his  eye.  The 
others  were  shocked,  and  put  Alcander  into  Ly- 
curgus'  hands,  to  be  punished  as  he  thought  fit. 
All  Lycurgus  did  was  to  make  him  wait  upon  him 
at  meals,  and  Alcander  was  so  touched  and  won 
over  that  he  became  one  of  his  best  supporters. 
After  having  fully  taught  Sparta  to  observe  his 
rule,  Iyycurgus  declared  that  he  had  another 
journey  to  take,  and  made  the  people  swear  to  ob- 
serve his  laws  till  he  came  back  again.  He  never 
did  come  back,  and  they  held  themselves  bound  by 
them  for  ever. 

This  story  of  Lycurgus  has  been  doubted,  but 
whether  there  were  such  a  man  or  not,  it  is  quite 
certain  that  these  were  the  laws  of  Sparta  in  her 
most  famous  days,  and  that  they  did  their  work  ot 
making  brave  and  hardy  soldiers.  The  rule  was 
much  less  strict  in  the  camp  than  the  city,  and  the 
news  of  a  war  was  delightful  to  the  Spartans  as  a 
holiday-time.  All  the  hard  work  of  their  farms 
was  done  for  them  by  the  Helots,  who  were  such  a 
strong  race  that  it  was  not  easy  to  keep  them  down, 
although  their  masters  were  very  cruel  to  them, 
often  killing  large  numbers  of  them  if  they  seemed 


Lycurgus  and  the  Laws  of  Sparta.        141 

to  be  growing  dangerous,  always  ill-treating  them, 
and,  it  is  said,  sometimes  making  them  drunk,  that 
the  sight  of  their  intoxication  might  disgust  the 
young  Spartans.  In  truth,  the  whole  Spartan 
system  was  hard  and  unfeeling,  and  much  fitter  to 
make  fighting  machines  than  men.    . 

The  first  great  Spartan  war  that  we  know  of  was 
with  their  neighbors  of  Messenia,  who  stood  out 
bravely,  but  were  beaten,  and  brought  down  to  the 
state  of  Helots  in  the  year  723  B.C.,  all  but  a  small 
band,  who  fled  into  other  states.  Among  them 
was  born  a  brave  youth  named  Aristomenes,  who 
collected  all  the  boldest  of  his  fellow-Messenians  to 
try  to  save  their  country,  and  Argos,  Arcadia,  and 
Elis  joined  with  them.  Several  battles  were 
fought.  One,  which  was  called  the  battle  of  the 
Boar's  Pillar,  was  long  sung  about.  An  augur 
had  told  Aristomenes  that  under  a  tree  sat  the 
Spartan  brothers  Castor  and  Pollux,  to  protect 
their  countrymen,  and  that  he  might  not  pass  it ; 
but  in  the  pursuit  he  rushed  by  it,  and  at  that 
moment  the  shield  was  rent  from  him  by  an  unseen 
hand.  While  he  was  searching  for  it,  the  Spartans 
(who  do  seem  this  time  to  have  fled)  escaped ;  but 
Messene  was  free,  and  he  was  crowned  with 
flowers    by   the    rejoicing   women.     A    command 


142  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

from  Apollo  made  him  descend  into  a  cave,  where 
he  found  his  shield,  adorned  with  the  figure  of  an 
eagle,  and  much  encouraged,  he  won  another 
battle,  and  would  have  entered  Sparta  itself,  had 
not  Helen  and  her  twin  brothers  appeared  to  warn 
him  back.  At  last,  however,  the  war  turned 
against  him,  and  in  a  battle  on  Laconian  ground  he 
was  stunned  by  a  stone,  and  taken  prisoner,  with 
50  more.  They  were  all  condemned  to  be  thrown 
down  a  high  rock  into  a  pit.  Everyone  else  was 
killed  by  the  fall,  but  Aristomenes  found  himself 
unhurt,  with  sky  above,  high  precipices  on  all 
sides,  and  his  dead  comrades  under  him.  He 
wrapped  himself  in  his  cloak  to  wait  for  death,  but 
on  the  third  day  he  heard  something  moving, 
uncovered  his  face,  and  saw  that  a  fox  had  crept  in 
from  a  cavern  at  the  side  of  the  pit.  He  took  hold 
of  the  fox's  tail,  crawled  after  it,  and  at  last  saw 
the  light  of  day.  He  scraped  the  earth  till  the 
way  was  large  enough  for  him  to  pass,  escaped,  and 
gathered  his  friends,  to  the  amazement  of  the 
Spartans.  Again  he  gained  the  victory,  and  a 
truce  was  made,  but  he  was  treacherously  seized, 
and  thrown  into  prison.  However,  this  time  he 
was  set  free  by  a  maiden,  whom  he  gave  in  mar- 
riage to  his  son.     At  last  Eira,  the  chief  city  of 


Lycurgus  and  the  Laws  of  Sparta.        143 

Messenia,  was  betrayed  by  a  foolish  woman,  while 
Aristomenes  was  laid  aside  by  a  wound.  In  spite 
of  this,  however,  he  fought  for  three  days  and  nights 
against  the  Spartans,  and  at  last  drew  up  all  the 
survivors  —  women  as  well  as  men — in  a  hollow 
square,  with  the  children  in  the  middle,  and  de- 
manded a  free  passage.  The  Spartans  allowed 
these  brave  Messenians  to  pass  untouched,  and 
they  reached  Arcadia.  There  the  dauntless  Aristo- 
menes arranged  another  scheme  for  seizing  Sparta 
itself,  but  it  was  betrayed,  and  failed.  The  Ar- 
cadians stoned  the  traitor,  while  the  gentle  Aristo- 
menes wept  for  him.  The  remaining  Messenians 
begged  him  to  lead  them  to  a  new  country,  but  he 
would  not  leave  Greece  as  long  as  he  could  strike 
a  blow  against  Sparta.  However,  he  sent  his  two 
sons,  and  they  founded  in  Sicily  a  new  Messene, 
which  we  still  call  Messina.  Aristomenes  waited 
in  vain  in  Arcadia,  till  Damagetus,  king  of 
Rhodes,  who  had  been  bidden  by  an  oracle  to 
marry  the  daughter  of  the  best  of  Greeks,  asked 
for  the  daughter  of  Aristomenes,  and  persuaded 
him  to  finish  his  life  in  peace  and  honor  in  Rhodes. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

SOLON   AND   THE   LAWS   OF   ATHENS. 
B.C.  594  —  546. 

NORTH  of  the  Peloponnesus,  jutting  out  into 
the  iEgean  Sea,  lay  the  rocky  little  Ionian 
state  of  Attica,  with  its  lovely  city,  Athens. 
There  was  a  story  that  Neptune  and  Pallas  Athene 
had  had  a  strife  as  to  which  should  be  the  patron  of 
the  city,  and  that  it  was  to  be  given  to  whichever 
should  produce  the  most  precious  gift  for  it. 
Neptune  struck  the  earth  with  his  trident,  and 
there  appeared  a  war-horse ;  but  Pallas'  touch 
brought  forth  an  olive-tree,  and  this  was  judged 
the  most  useful  gift.  The  city  bore  her  name ;  the 
tiny  Athenian  owl  was  her  badge ;  the  very  olive- 
tree  she  had  bestowed  was  said  to  be  that  which 
grew  in  the  court  of  the  Acropolis,  a  sacred  citadel 

144 


Solon  and  the  Laws  of  Athens.  145 

on  a  rock  above  the  city ;  and  near  at  hand  was  her 
temple,  called  the  Parthenon,  or  Virgin's  Shrine. 
Not  far  off  was  the  Areopagus,  a  Hill  of  Ares,  or 
Mars,  the  great  place  for  hearing  causes  and  doing 
justice  ;  and  below  these  there  grew  up  a  city  rilled 
with  men  as  brave  as  the  Spartans,  and  far  more 
thoughtful  and  wise,  besides  having  a  most  perfect 
taste  and  sense  of  beauty. 

The  Athenians  claimed  Theseus  as  their  greatest 
king  and  first  lawgiver.  It  was  said  that,  when 
the  Dorians  were  conquering  the  Peloponnesus, 
they  came  north  and  attacked  Attica,  but  were  told 
by  an  oracle  that  they  never  would  succeed  if  they 
slew  the  king  of  Athens.  Codrus,  who  was  then 
king  of  Athens,  heard  of  this  oracle,  and  devoted 
himself  for  his  country.  He  found  that  in  battle 
the  Dorians  always  forbore  to  strike  him,  and  he 
disguised  himself,  went  into  the  enemy's  camp, 
quarreled  with  a  soldier  tjiere,  and  thus  caused 
himself  to  be  killed,  so  as  to  save  his  country.  He 
was  the  last  king.  Tha  Athenians  would  not  have 
anyone  less  noble  to  sit  in  his  seat,  and  appointed 
magistrates  called  Archons  in  the  stead  of  kings. 

Soon  they  fell  into  a  state  of  misrule  and  dis- 
order, and  they  called  on  a  philosopher  named 
Draco  to  draw  up  laws  for  them.     Draco's  laws 


146  loung  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

were  good,  but  very  strict,  and  for  the  least  crime 
the  punishment  was  death.  Nobody  could  keep 
them,  so  they  were  set  aside  and  forgotten,  and 
confusion  grew  worse,  till  another  wise  lawgiver 
named  Solon  undertook  to  draw  up  a  fresh  code  of 
laws  for  them. 

Solon  was  one  of  the  seven  wise  men  of  Greece, 
who  all  lived  at  the  same  time.  The  other  six 
were  Thales,  Bion,  Pittacus,  Cleobulus,  Chilo,  and 
Periander.  This  last  was  called  Tyrant  of  Corinth. 
When  the  ancient  Greeks  spoke  of  a  tyrant  they 
did  not  mean  a  cruel  king  so  much  as  a  king  who 
had  not  been  heir  to  the  crown,  but  had  taken  to 
himself  the  rule  over  a  free  people.  A  very  curious 
story  belongs  to  Periander,  for  we  have  not  quite 
parted  with  the  land  of  fable.  It  is  about  the  poet 
Arion,  who  lived  chiefly  with  him  at  Corinth,  but 
made  one  voyage  to  Sicily.  As  he  was  coming 
back,  the  sailors  plotted  to  throw  him  overboard, 
and  divide  the  gifts  he  was  bringing  with  him. 
When  he  found  they  were  resolved,  he  only  begged 
to  play  once  more  on  his  lyre  ;  then  standing  on  the 
prow,  he  played  and  sung  a  hymn  calling  the  gods 
to  his  aid.  So  sweet  were  the  sounds  that  shoals 
of  dolphins  came  round  the  ship,  and  Arion,  leaping 
from  the  prow,  placed  himself  on  the  back  of  one, 


Solon  and  the  Laivs  of  Athens.  147 

which  bore  him  safely  to  land.  Periander  severely 
punished  the  treacherous  sailors.  Some  think  that 
this  story  was  a  Greek  alteration  of  the  history  of 
Jonah,  which  might  have  been  brought  by  the 
Phoenician  sailors. 

Solon  was  Athenian  by  birth,  and  of  the  old 
royal  line.  He  had  served  his  country  in  war,  and 
had  traveled  to  study  the  habits  of  other  lands, 
when  the  Athenians,  wearied  with  the  oppressions 
of  the  rich  and  great,  and  finding  that  no  one 
attended  to  the  laws  of  Draco,  left  it  to  him  to 
form  a  new  constitution.  It  would  be  of  no  use  to 
try  to  explain  it  all.  The  chief  thing  to  be  remem- 
bered about  it  is,  that  at  the  head  of  the  govern- 
ment were  nine  chief  magistrates,  who  were  called 
Archons,  and  who  were  changed  every  three  years. 
To  work  with  them  there  was  a  council  of  four 
hundred  aristoi,  or  nobles ;  but  when  war  or  peace 
was  decided,  the  whole  demos,  or  people,  had  to 
vote,  according  to  their  tribes ;  and  if  a  man  was 
thought  to  be  dangerous  to  the  state,  the  demos, 
might  sentence  him  to  be  banished.  His  name  was 
written  on  an  oyster  shell,  or  on  a  tile,  by  those 
who  wished  him  to  be  driven  away,  and  these  were 
thrown  into  one  great  vessel.  If  they  amounted  to 
a  certain  number,  the  man  was  said  to  be  "  ostra- 


148  Youny  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

cised,"  and  forced  to  leave  the  city.  This  was 
sometimes  done  very  unjustly,  but  it  answered  the 
purpose  of  sending  away  rich  men  who  became 
overbearing,  and  kept  tyrants  from  rising  up. 
There  were  no  unnatural  laws  as  there  were  at 
Sparta ;  people  might  live  at  home  as  they  pleased ; 
but  there  were  schools,  and  all  the  youths  were  to 
be  taught  there,  both  learning  and  training  in  all 
exercises.  And  whether  it  was  from  Solon's  laws 
or  their  own  character,  there  certainly  did  arise  in 
Athens  some  of  the  greatest  and  noblest  men  of  all 
times. 

After  having  set  things  in  order,  Solon  is  said  to 
have  been  so  annoyed  by  foolish  questions  on  his 
schemes,  that  he  went  again  on  his  travels.  First 
he  visited  his  friend  Thales,  at  Miletus,  in  Asia 
Minor ;  and,  finding  him  rich  and  comfortable,  he 
asked  why  he  had  never  married.  Thales  made  no 
answer  then,  but  a  few  days  later  he  brought  in  a 
stranger,  who,  he  said,  was  just  from  Athens. 
Solon  asked  what  was  the  news.  "A  great  funeral 
was  going  on,  and  much  lamentation,"  said  the 
man.  "  Whose  was  it ? "  "He  did  not  learn  the 
name,  but  it  was  a  young  man  of  great  promise, 
whose  father  was  abroad  upon  his  travels.  The 
father  was  much  famed  for  his  wisdom  and  justice." 


Solon  and  the  Laws  of  Athens.  149 

"Was  it  Solon?"  cried  the  listener.  "It  was." 
Solon  burst  into  tears,  tore  his  hair,  and  beat  his 
breast;  but  Thales  took  his  hand,  saying,  "Now 
you  see,  O  Solon,  why  I  have  never  married,  lest  I 
should  expose  myself  to  griefs  such  as  these  ;"  and 
then  told  him  it  was  all  a  trick.  Solon  could  not 
much  have  approved  such  a  trick,  for  when  Thespis, 
a  great  actor  of  plays,  came  to  Athens,  Solon  asked 
him  if  he  were  not  ashamed  to  speak  so  many  false- 
hoods. Thespis  answered  that  it  was  all  in  sport. 
"Ay,"  said  Solon,  striking  his  staff  on  the  ground ; 
"  but  he  that  tells  lies  in  sport  will  soon  tell  them  in 
earnest." 

After  this,  Solon  went  on  to  Lydia.  This  was  a 
kingdom  of  Greek  settlers  in  Asia  Minor,  where 
flowed  that  river  Pactolus,  whose  sands  contained 
gold-dust,  from  King  Midas'  washing,  as  the  story 
went.  The  king  was  Croesus,  who  was  exceed- 
ingly rich  and  splendid.  He  welcomed  Solon,  and, 
after  showing  him  all  his  glory,  asked  whom  the 
philosopher  thought  the  happiest  of  men.  "An 
honest  man  named  Tellus,"  said  Solon,  "  who  lived 
uprightly,  was  neither  rich  nor  poor,  had  good  chil- 
dren, and  died  bravely  for  his  country."  Croesus 
was  vexed,  but  asked  who  was  next  happiest. 
"  Two   brothers   named   Cleobis   and    Bito,"   said 


150  Young  Folks'  History  of  G 


reece. 


Solon,  "who  were  so  loving  and  dutiful  to  their 
mother,  that,  when  she  wanted  to  go  to  the  temple 
of  Juno,  they  yoked  themselves  to  her  car,  and  drew 
her  thither ;  then,  having  given  this  proof  of  their 
love,  they  lay  down  to  sleep,  and  so  died  without 
pain  or  grief."  "  And  what  do  you  think  of  me?" 
said  Croesus.  "  Ah !  "  said  Solon,  "  call  no  man 
happy  till  he  is  dead." 

Crcesus  was  mortified  at  such  a  rebuff  to  his 
pride,  and  neglected  Solon.  There  was  a  clever 
crooked  Egyptian  slave  at  Crcesus'  court,  called 
JEsop,  who  gave  his  advice  in  the  form  of  the  fables 
we  know  so  well,  such  as  the  wolf  and  the  lamb, 
the  fox  and  the  grapes,  etc. ;  though,  as  the  Hin- 
doos and  Persians  have  from  old  times  told  the 
same  stories,  it  would  seem  as  if  JEsop  only  re- 
peated them,  but  did  not  invent  them.  When 
^Esop  saw  Solon  in  the  background,  he  said,  "Solon, 
visits  to  kings  should  be  seldom,  or  else  pleasant." 
"No,"  said  Solon:  "visits  to  kings  should  be  sel- 
dom, or  else  profitable,"  as  the  courtly  slave  found 
them.  ^Esop  came  to  a  sad  end.  Crcesus  sent  him 
to  Delphi  to  distribute  a  sum  of  money  among  the 
poor,  but  they  quarreled  so  about  it  that  JEsop 
said  he  should  take  it  back  to  the  king,  and  give 


Solon  and  the  Laws  of  Athens,  151 

none  at  all ;  whereupon  the  Delphians,  in  a  rage, 
threw  him  off  a  precipice,  and  killed  him. 

Croesus  was  just  thinking  of  going  to  war  with 
the  great  Cyrus,  king  of  the  Medes  and  Persians, 
the  same  who  overcame  Assyria,  took  Babylon, 
and  restored  Jerusalem,  and  who  was  now  sub- 
duing Asia  Minor.  Croesus  asked  council  of  all 
the  oracles,  but  first  he  tried  their  truth.  He  bade 
Ms  messenger  ask  the  oracle  at  Delphi  Avhat  he  was 
doing  while  they  were  inquiring.  The  answer 
was  — 

"Lo,  on  my  sense  striketh  the  smell  of  a  shell-covered  tortoise 
Boiling  on  the  fire,  with  the  flesh  of  a  lamb,  in  a  cauldron; 
Brass  is  the  vessel  below,  brass  the  cover  above  it." 

Croesus  was  really,  as  the  most  unlikely  thing  to 
be  guessed,  boiling  a  tortoise  and  a  lamb  together 
in  a  brazen  vessel.  Sure  now  of  the  truth  of  the 
oracle,  he  sent  splendid  gifts,  and  asked  whether 
he  should  go  to  war  with  Cyrus.  The  answer  was 
that,  if  he  did,  a  mighty  kingdom  would  be 
overthrown. 

He  thought  it  meant  the  Persian,  but  it  was  his 
own.  Lydia  was  overcome,  Sardis,  his  capital,  was 
burnt,  and  he  was  about  to  be  slain,  when  remem- 
bering the  warning,  "Call.no  man  happy  till  his 
death,"  he  cried  out,  "  O  Solon,  Solon,  Solon  !  " 


152  Young  Folks*  History  of  Greece. 

Cyrus  heard  him,  and  bade  that  he  should  be 
asked  what  it  meant.  The  story  so  struck  the 
great  king,  that  he  spared  Croesus,  and  kept  him 
as  his  adviser  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 


CRCESUS   BEFORE   CYRUS. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

PISISTRATUS   AND   HIS    SONS. 
B.C.  558  —  499. 

AFTER  all  the  pains  that  Solon  had  taken  to 
guard  the  freedom  of  the  Athenians,  his 
system  had  hardly  begun  to  work  before  his  kins- 
man Pisistratus,  who  was  also  of  the  line  of 
Codrus,  overthrew  it.  First  this  man  pretended  to 
have  been  nearly  murdered,  and  obtained  leave  to 
have  a  guard  of  fifty  men,  armed  with  clubs ;  and 
with  these  he  made  everyone  afraid  of  him,  so  that 
he  had  all  the  power,  and  became  tyrant  of  Athens. 
He  was  once  driven  out,  but  he  found  a  fine,  tall, 
handsome  woman,  a  flower-girl,  in  one  of  the  vil- 
lages of  Attica,  dressed  her  in  helmet  and  cuirass, 
like  the  goddess  Pallas,  and  came  into  Athens  in  a 
chariot  with  her,  when  she  presented  him  to  the 

people  as  their  ruler.     The  common  people  thought 
155 


156  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

she  was  their  goddess,  and  Pisistratus  had  friends 
among  the  rich,  so  he  recovered  his  power,  and  he 
did  not,  job.  the  whole,  use  it  badly.  He  made  a. 
kind  law,  decreeing  that  a  citizen  who  had  been 
maimed  in  battle  should  be  provided  for  by  the 
State,  and  he  was  the  first  Greek  to  found  a 
library,  and  collect  books  —  namely,  manuscript 
upon  the  sheets  of  the  rind  of  the  Egyptian  paper- 
rush,  or  else  upon  skins.  He  was  also  the  first 
person  to  collect  and  arrange  the  poems  of  Homer. 
Everybody  seems  to  have  known  some  part  by 
heart,  but  they  were  in  separate  songs,  and  Pisis- 
tratus first  had  them  written  down  and  put  in 
order,  after  which  no  Greek  was  thought  an  edu- 
cated man  unless  he  thoroughly  knew  the  Iliad 
and  Odyssey. 

Pisistratus  ruled  for  thirty-three  years,  and  made 
the  Athenians  content,  and  when  he  died  his  sons 
Hippias  and  Hipparchus  ruled  much  as  he  had 
done,  and  gave  no  cause  for  complaint.  One  thing 
the}r  did  was  to  set  up  mile-stones  all  over  the 
roads  of  Attica,  each  with  a  bust  of  Mercury  on 
the  top,  and  a  wise  proverb  carved  below  the  num- 
ber of  the  miles.  But  they  grew  proud  and  inso- 
lent, and  one  day  a  damsel  of  high  family  was 
rudely  sent  away  from  a  solemn  religious  proces- 


Pisistratus  and  His  Sons,  157 

sion,  because  Hipparchus  had  a  quarrel  with  her 
brother  Harmodius.  This  only  made  Harmodius 
vow  vengeance,  and,  together  with  his  friend  Aris- 
togeiton,  he  made  a  plot  with  other  youths  for  sur- 
rounding the  two  brothers  at  a  great  festival,  when 
everyone  carried  myrtle-boughs,  as  well  as  their 
swords  and  shields.  The  conspirators  had  daggers 
hidden  in  the  mr}~tle,  and  succeeded  in  killing 
Hipparchus,  but  Harmodius  was  killed  on  the  spot, 
and  Aristogeiton  was  taken  and  tortured  to  make 
him  reveal  his  other  accomplices,  and  so  was  a  girl 
named  Lecena,  who  was  known  to  have  been  in  their 
secrets ;  but  she  bore  all  the  pain  without  a  word, 
and  when  it  was  over  she  was  found  to  have  bitten 
off  her  tongue,  that  she  might  not  betray  her 
friends.  Hippias  kept  up  his  rule  for  a. few  years 
longer,  but  he  found  all  going  against  him,  and 
that  the  people  were  bent  on  -having  Solon's  sys- 
tem back ;  so,  fearing  for  his  life,  he  sent  away  his 
wife  and  children,  and  soon  followed  them  to  Asia, 
B.C.  510.  This  —  which  is  called  the  Expulsion  of 
the  Pisistratids — was  viewed  by  the  Athenians  as 
the  beginning  of  their  freedom.  They  paid  yearly 
honors  to  the  memory  of  the  murderers  Harmodius 
and  Aristogeiton  ;  and  as  Leoena  means  a  lioness, 


158  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

they  honored  that  brave  woman's  constancy  with 
the  statue  of  a  lioness  without  a  tongue. 

Hippias  wandered  about  for  some  time,  and 
ended  by  going  to  the  court  of  the  king  of  Persia. 
Cyrus  was  now  dead,  after  having  established  a 
great  empire,  which  spread  from  the  Persian  Gulf 
to  the  shore  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  had  Baby- 
lon for  one  of  its  capitals.  When  Croesus  was 
conquered,  almost  all  the  Greek  colonies  along  the 
coast  of  Asia  Minor  likewise  fell  to  the  "  Great 
King,"  as  his  subjects  called  him.  The  Persians 
adored  the  sun  and  fire  as  emblems  of  the  great 
God,  and  thought  the  king  himself  had  something 
of  divinity  in  his  person,  and  therefore,  like  most 
Eastern  kings,  he  had  entire  power  over  his  people 
for  life  or  death ;  they  were  all  his  slaves,  and  the 
only  thing  he  could  not  do  was  to  change  his  own 
decrees. 

After  the  Asian  coast,  the  isles  of  the  iEgean 
stood  next  in  the  way  of  the  Persian.  In  the  little 
isle  of  Samos  lived  a  king  called  Polycrates,  who 
had  always  been  wealthy  and  prosperous.  His 
friend  Amasis,  king  of  Egypt,  told  him  that  the 
gods  were  always  jealous  of  the  fortunate,  and  that, 
if  he  wished  to  avert  some  terrible  disaster,  he  had 
better   give  up   something   very   precious.     Upon 


Pisistratus  and  His  Sons.  159 

this  Polycrates  took  off  his  beautiful  signet  ring 
and  threw  it  into  the  sea  ;  but  a  few  days  later  a 
large  fish  was  brought  as  a  present  to  the  king,  and 
when  it  was  cut  up  the  ring  was  found  in  its 
stomach,  and  restored  to  Polycrates.  Upon  this 
Amasis  renounced  his  friendship,  declaring  that, 
as  the  gods  threw  back  his  offering,  something 
dreadful  was  before  him.  The  foreboding  came 
sadly  true,  for  the  Persian  satrap,  or  governor,  of 
Sardis,  being  envious  of  Polycrates,  declared  that 
the  Ionian  was  under  the  Great  King's  displeasure, 
and  invited  him  to  Sardis  to  clear  himself.  Poly- 
crates set  off,  but  was  seized  as  soon  as  he  landed 
in  Asia,  and  hung  upon-  a  cross. 

Amasis  himself  died  just  as  the  Persians  were 
coming  to  attack  Egypt,  which  Cyrus'  son  Camby- 
ses  entirely  conquered,  and  added  to  the  Persian 
empire ;  but  Cambyses  shortly  after  lost  his  senses 
and  died,  and  there  was  an  unsettled  time  before 
a  very  able  and  spirited  king  named  Darius  ob- 
tained the  crown,  and  married  Cyrus'  daughter 
Atossa.  Among  the  prisoners  made  at  Samos 
there  was  a  physician  named  Democedes,  who  was 
taken  to  Susa,  Darius'  capital.  He  longed  to  get 
home,  and  tried  not  to  show  how  good  a  doctor  he 
was  ;  but  the  king  one  day  hurt  his  foot,  and,  when 


160  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

all  the  Persian  doctors  failed  to  cure  him,  he  sent 
for  Democedes,  who  still  pretended  to  be  no  wiser 
until  torture  was  threatened,  and  he  was  forced  to 
try  his  skill.  Darius  recovered,  made  him  great 
gifts,  and  sent  him  to  attend  his  wives ;  but  Demo- 
cedes still  pined  for  home,  and  managed  to  per- 
suade Atossa  to  beg  the  king  to  give  her  Spartan 
and  Athenian  slaves,  and  to  tell  him  some  great 
undertaking  was  expected  from  him.  The  doctor's 
hope  in  this  was  that  he  should  be  sent  as  a  spy  to 
Greece,  before  the  war,  and  should  make  his  es- 
cape ;  but  it  was  a  bad  way  of  showing  love  to  his 
country.  Hippias  was  at  Susa  too,  trying  to  stir 
up  Darius  to  attack  Athens,  and  restore  him  as  a 
tributary  king ;  and  there  was  also  Histiasus,  a 
Greek  who  had  been  tyrant  of  Miletus,  and  who 
longed  to  get  home.  All  the  Ionian  Greeks  on  the 
coast  of  Asia  Minor  hated  the  Persian  rule,  and 
Histiseus  hoped  that  if  they  revolted  he  should  be 
wanted  there,  so  he  sent  a  letter  to  his  friend  Aris- 
tagoras,  at  Miletus,  in  a  most  curious  way.  He 
had  the  head  of  a  trusty  slave  shaved,  then,  with  a 
red-hot  pin,  wrote  his  advice  to  rise  against  the 
Persians,  and,  when  the  hair  was  grown  again,  sent 
the  man  as  a  present  to  Aristagoras,  with  orders  to 
tell  him  to  shave  his  head. 


Pisistratus  and  His  Sons.  161 

Aristagoras  read  the  letter,  and  went  to  Sparta 
to  try  to  get  the  help  of  the  kings  in  attacking 
Persia.  He  took  with  him  a  brass  plate,  engraven 
with  a  map  of  the  world,  according  to  the  notions 
of  the  time,  where  it  looked  quite  easy  to  march  to 
Susa,  and  win  the  great  Eastern  empire.  At  first 
Cleomenes,  the  most  spirited  of  the  kings,  was  in- 
clined to  listen,  but  when  he  found  that  this  easy 
march  would  take  three  months  he  changed  his 
mind,  and  thought  it  beyond  Spartan  powers. 
Aristagoras  went  secretly  to  his  house,  and  tried 
to  bribe  him,  at  least  to  help  the  Ionians  in  their 
rising ;  but  while  higher  and  higher  offers  were 
being  made,  Gorgo,  the  little  daughter  of  Cleome- 
nes, only  eight  years  old,  saw  by  their  looks  that 
something  was  wrong,  and  cried  out,  "  Go  away, 
father  ;  this  stranger  will  do  you  harm."  Cleome- 
nes took  it  as  the  voice  of  an  oracle,  and  left  the 
stranger  to  himself. 

He  then  went  to  Athens,  and  the  Athenians, 
being  Ionians  themselves,  listened  more  willingly, 
and  promised  to  aid  their  brethren  in  freeing  them- 
selves. Together,  the  Athenians  and  a  large  body 
of  Ephesians,  Milesians,  and  other  Ionians,  attacked 
Sardis.  The  Persian  satrap  Artaphernes  threw 
himself  into  the  citadel ;  but  the  town,  which  was 


162  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

built  chiefly  of  wicker-work,  that  the  houses  might 
not  be  easily  thrown  down  by  earthquakes,  caught 
fire,  and  was  totally  burnt.  The  Athenians  could 
not  stay  in  the  flaming  streets,  and  had  to  give 
back,  and  the  whole  Persian  force  of  the  province 
came  up  and  drove  them  out.  Darius  was  furious 
when  he  heard  of  the  burning  of  Sardis,  and,  for 
fear  he  should  forget  his  revenge,  ordered  that  a 
slave  should  mention  the  name  of  Athens  every  day 
to  him  as  he  sat  down  to  dinner.  Histiaeus,  how- 
ever, succeeded  in  his  plan,  for  Darius  believed 
him  when  he  said  the  uproar  could  only  have 
broken  out  in  his  absence,  and  let  him  go  home  to 
try  to  put  it  down. 

He  was  not  very  well  received  by  Artaphernes, 
who  was  sure  he  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  revolt. 
"  Aristagoras  put  on  the  shoe,"  he  said,  "but  it  was 
of  your  stitching." 

Aristagoras  had  been  killed,  and  Histiseus,  flee- 
ing to  the  Ionians,  remained  with  them  till  they 
were  entirely  beaten,  and  he  surrendered  to  the 
Persians,  by  whom  he  was  crucified,  while  the 
Ionians  were  entirely  crushed,  and  saw  their  fairest 
children  carried  off  to  be  slaves  in  the  palace  at 
Susa.  Darius  had  longed  after  Greek  slaves  ever 
since  he  had  seen  a  fine  handsome  girl  walking 


Pisistratus  and  His  Sons.  163 

along,  upright,  with  a  pitcher  of  water  on  her  head, 
the  bridle  of  a  horse  she  was  leading  over  her  arm, 
and  her  hands  busy  with  a  distaff.  He  did  not 
know  that  such  grand  people  are  never  found  in 
enslaved,  oppressed  countries,  like  his  own,  and  he 
wanted  to  have  them  all  under  his  power,  so  he  be- 
gan to  raise  his  forces  from  all  parts  of  his  empire, 
for  the  conquest  of  what  seemed  to  him  the  inso- 
lent little  cities  of  Greece  ;  and  Hippias,  now  an 
old  man,  undertook  to  show  him  the  way  to 
Athens,  and  to  betray  his  country.  The  battle 
was  between  the  East  and  West — between  a  des- 
pot ruling  mere  slaves,  and  free,  thoughtful  cities, 
full  of  evil  indeed,  and  making  many  mistakes,  but 
brave  and  resolute,  and  really  feeling  for  their 
hearths  and  homes. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

THE  BATTLE   OF   MARATHON. 
B.C.  490. 

THE  whole  Persian  fleet,  manned  by  Phoenician 
sailors,  and  a  huge  army,  under  the  two 
satraps  Datis  and  Artaphernes,  were  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  ^Egean  Sea,  ready  to  overwhelm 
little  Attica  first,  and  then  all  Greece.  Nobody 
had  yet  stood  firm  against  those  all-conquering 
Persians,  and  as  they  came  from  island  to  island 
the  inhabitants  fled  or  submitted.  Attica  was  so 
small  as  to  have  only  9000  fighting  men  to  meet 
this  host.  They  sent  to  ask  the  aid  of  the  Spartans, 
but  though  these  would  have  fought  bravely,  an 
old  rule  forbade  them  to  march  during  the  week 
before  the  full  moon,  and  in  this  week  Athens 
might   be    utterly   ruined.     Nobody   did    come  to 

their  help  but  600  men  from  the  very  small  state  of 

164 


The  Battle  of  Marathon.  165 

Plataea,  and  this  little  army,  not  numbering  10,000, 
were  encamped  around  the  temple  of  Hercules, 
looking  down  upon  the  bay  of  Marathon,  where 
lay  the  ships  which  had  just  landed  at  least  200,000 
men  of  all  the  Eastern  nations,  and  among  them 
many  of  the  Greeks  of  Asia  Minor.  The  hills 
slant  back  so  as  to  make  a  sort  of  horse-shoe  round 
the  bay,  with  about  five  miles  of  clear  flat  ground 
between  them  and  the  sea,  and  on  this  open  space 
lay  the  Persians. 

It  was  the  rule  among  the  Athenians  that  the 
heads  of  their  ten  tribes  should  command  by  turns 
each  for  a  day,  but  Aristides,  the  best  and  most 
high-minded  of  all  of  them,  persuaded  the  rest  to 
give  up  their  turns  to  Miltiades,  who  was  known, 
to  be  the  most  skilful  captain.  He  drew  up  his 
men  in  a  line  as  broad  as  the  whole  front  of  the 
Persian  army,  though  far  less  deep,  and  made  them 
all  come  rushing  down  at  them  with  even  step,  but 
at  a  run,  shouting  the  war-cry,  "  Io  psean !  Io 
pa3an ! "  In  the  middle,  where  the  best  men  of  the 
Persians  were,  they  stood  too  firm  to  be  thus 
broken,  but  at  the  sides  they  gave  way,  and  ran 
back  towards  the  sea,  or  over  the  hills,  and  then 
Miltiades  gave  a  signal  to  the  two  side  divisions — 
wings,  as  they  were  called  —  to  close  up  together, 


166  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece, 

and  crush  the  Persian  centre.  The  enemy  now 
thought  of  nothing  but  reaching  their  ships  and  put- 
ting out  to  sea,  while  the  Athenians  tried  to  seize 
their  ships  ;  Cynegyrus,  a  brave  Greek,  caught  hold 
of  the  prow  of  one  ship,  and  when  the  crew  cut  off 
his  hand  with  an  axe,  he  still  clung  with  the  other,  till 
that  too  was  cut  off,  and  he  sank  and  was  drowned. 
The  fleet  still  held  ■  many  men,  and  the  Athenians 
saw  that,  instead  of  crossing  back  to  Asia  Minor,  it 
was  sailing  round  the  promontory  of  Sunium,  as  if 
to  attack  Athens.  It  was  even  said  that  a  friend 
of  Hippias  had  raised  a  shield,  glittering  in  the  sun, 
as  a  signal  that  all  the  men  were  away.  However, 
Miltiades  left  Aristides,  with  his  tribe  of  1000  men, 
to  guard  the  plain  and  bury  the  dead,  and  marched 
back  over  the  hills  with  the  rest  to  guard  their 
homes,  that  same  night;  but  the  Persians  must 
have  been  warned,  or  have  changed  their  mind,  for 
they  sailed  away  for  Asia ;  and  Hippias,  who  seems 
to  have  been  wounded  in  the  battle,  died  at  Lem- 
nos.  The  Spartans  came  up  just  as  all  was  over, 
and  greatly  praised  the  Athenians,  for  indeed  it 
was  the  first  time  Greeks  had  beaten  Persians,  and 
it  was  the  battle  above  all  others  that  saved  Europe 
from  falling  under  the  slavery  of  the  East.  The 
fleet  was  caught  by  a  storm  as  it  crossed  the 
JEgean  Sea  again. 


The  Battle  of  Marathon.  167 

All  the  Athenians  who  had  been  slain  were 
buried  under  one  great  mound,  adorned  with  ten 
pillars  bearing  their  names;  the  Platseans  had 
another  honorable  mound,  and  the  Persians  a  third. 
All  the  treasure  that  was  taken  in  the  camp  and 
ships  was  honorably  brought  to  the  city  and 
divided.  There  was  only  one  exception,  namely, 
one  Kallias,  who  wore  long  hair  bound  with  a  fillet, 
and  was  taken  for  a  king  by  a  poor  Persian,  who 
fell  on  his  knees  before  him,  and  showed  him  a 
well  where  was  a  great  deal  of  gold  hidden.  Kal- 
lias not  only  took  the  gold,  but  killed  the  poor 
stranger,  and  his  family  were  ever  after  held  as  dis- 
graced, and  called  by  a  nickname  meaning  "En- 
riched by  the  Well." 

The  Platseans  were  rewarded  by  being  made 
freemen  of  Athens,  as  well  as  of  their  own  city ; 
and  Miltiades,  while  all  his  countrymen  were  full 
of  joy  and  exultation,  asked  of  them  a  fleet  of 
seventy  ships,  promising  to  bring  them  fame  and 
riches.  With  it  he  sailed  for  the  island  of  Paros, 
that  which  was  specially  famed  for  its  white  marble. 
He  said  he  meant  to  punish  the  Parians  for  Iiaving 
joined  the  Persians,  but  it  really  was  because  of  a 
quarrel  of  his  own.  He  landed,  and  required  the 
Parians  to  pay  him  a  hundred  talents,. and  when 


168  Young  Folks'  History  of  Qreece. 

they  refused  lie  besieged  the  city,  until  a  woman 
named  Timo,  who  was  priestess  at  a  temple  of 
Ceres  near  the  gates,  promised  to  tell  him  a  way  of 
taking  the  city  if  he  would  meet  her  at  night  in 
the  temple,  where  no  man  was  allowed  to  enter. 
He  came,  and  leaped  over  the  outer  fence  of  the 
temple,  but,  brave  as  he  was  in  battle,  terror  at 
treading  on  forbidden  and  sacred  ground  over- 
powered him,  and,  without  seeing  the  priestess,  he 
leaped  back  again,  fell  on  the  other  side,  and 
severely  injured  his  thigh.  The  siege  was  given 
up,  and  he  was  carried  back  helpless  to  Athens, 
where  there  was  no  mercy  to  failures,  and  he  was 
arraigned  before  the  Areopagus  assembly,  by  a  man 
named  Xanthippus,  for  having  wasted  the  money 
of  the  State  and  deceived  the  people,  and  therefore 
being  guilty  of  death. 

It  must  have  been  a  sad  thing  to  see  the  great 
captain,  who  had  saved  his  country  in  that  great 
battle  only  a  year  or  two  before,  lying  on  his  couch, 
too  ill  to  defend  himself,  while  his  brother  spoke 
for  him,  and  appealed  to  his  former  services. 
In  consideration  of  these  it  was  decided  not  to  con- 
demn him  to  die,  but  he  was,  instead,  to  pay  fifty 
talents  of  silver,  and  before  the  sum  could  be 
raised,  he  died  of  his  hurts.     It  was  said  that  his 


The  Battle  of  Marathon.  169 

son  Kimoli  put  himself  into  prison  till  the  fine 
could  be  raised,  so  as  to  release  his  father's  corpse, 
which  was  buried  with  all  honor  on  the  plain  of 
Marathon,  with  a  tomb  recording  his  glory,  and  not 
his  fall. 

The  two  chief  citizens  who  were  left  were  Aris- 
tides  and  Themistocles,  both  very  able  men ;  but 
Aristides  was  perfectly  high-minded,  unselfish,  and 
upright,  while  Themistocles  cared  for  his  own 
greatness  more  than  anything  else.  Themistocles 
was  so  clever  that  his  tutor  had  said  to  him  when 
he  was  a  child,  u  Boy,  thou  wilt  never  be  an  ordi- 
nary person  ;  thou  wilt  either  be  a  mighty  blessing 
or  a  mighty  curse  to  thy  country."  When  he  grew 
up  he  used  his  powers  of  leading  the  multitude  for 
his  own  advantage,  and  that  of  his  party.  "  The 
gods  forbid,"  he  said,  "  that  I  should  sit  on  any 
tribunal  where  my  friends  should  not  have  more 
advantage  than  strangers."  While,  on  the  other 
hand,  Aristides  was  so  impartial  and  single-hearted 
that  he  got  the  name  of  Aristides  the  Just.  He 
cared  most  for  the  higher  class,  the  aristoi,  and 
thought  they  could  govern  best,  while  Themisto- 
cles sought  after  the  favor  of  the  people  ;  and  they 
both  led  the  minds  of  the  Athenians  so  completely 
while   they  were  speaking,  that,  after  a  meeting 


170  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

where  they  had  both  made  a  speech,  Aristides  said, 
"  Athens  will  never  be  safe  till  Themistocles  and  I 
are  both  in  prison,"  meaning  that  either  of  them 
could  easily  make  himself  tyrant. 

However,  Aristides,  though  of  high  family,  was 
very  poor,  and  men  said  it  was  by  the  fault  of  his 
cousin  Kallias,  the  "  Enriched  by  the  Well; ''  and 
Themistocles  contrived  to  turn  people's  minds 
against  him,  so  as  to  have  him  ostracised.  One 
day  he  met  a  man  in  the  street  with  a  shell  in  his' 
hand,  who  asked  him  to  write  the  name  of  Aristides 
on  it,  as  he  could  not  write  himself.  "  Pray,"  said 
Aristides,  "  what  harm  has  this  person  done  you, 
that  you  wish  to  banish  him  ?  " 

"No  harm  at  all,"  said  the  man;  "only  lam 
sick  of  always  hearing  him  called  the  Just." 

Aristides  had  no  more  to  say,  but  wrote  his  own 
name  ;  and  six  thousand  shells  having  been  counted 
up  against  him,  he  was  obliged  to  go  into  exile  for 
ten  }Tears. 

Cynegyrus,  the  man  whose  hands  had  been  cut 
off  in  the  bay  of  Marathon,  had  a  very  famous 
brother  named  JSschylus  —  quite  a  brave  soldier, 
and  a  poet  besides.  The  Athenians  had  come  to 
worshiping  Bacchus,  but  not  in  the  horrid,  mad, 
drunken   manner   of  the   first   orgies.     They  had 


Ill Hi      ! 


■HI 


^r     --^_- 


CoVo 


ARISTIDES   AND   THE  COUNTRYMAN. 


The  Battle  of  Marathon.  173 

songs  and  dances  by  persons  with  their  heads 
wreathed  in  vine  and  ivy  leaves,  and  a  goat  was 
sacrificed  in  the  midst.  The  Greek  word  for  a  goat 
is  tragos,  and  the  dances  came  to  be  called  trage- 
dies. Then  came  in  the  custom  of  having  poetical 
speeches  in  the  midst  of  the  dances,  made  in  the 
person  of  some  old  hero  or  god,  and  these  always 
took  place  in  a  curve  in  the  side  of  a  hill,  so  worked 
out  by  art  that  the  rock  was  cut  into  galleries,  for 
half-circles  of  spectators  to  sit  one  above  the  other, 
while  the  dancers  and  speakers  were  on  the  flat 
space  at  the  bottom.  Thespis,  whom  Solon  re- 
proved for  falsehoods,  was  the  first  person  who 
made  the  dancers  and  singers,  who  were  called  the 
chorus,  so  answer  one  another  and  the  speakers 
that  the  tragedy  became  a  play,  representing  some 
great  action  of  old.  The  actors  had  to  wear  brazen 
masks  and  tall  buskins,  or  no  one  could  have  well 
seen  or  heard  them.  iEschylus,  when  a  little  boy, 
was  set  to  watch  the  grapes  in  his  father's  vine- 
yard. He  fell  asleep,  and  dreamt  that  Bacchus 
appeared  to  him,  and  bade  him  make  his  festivals 
noble  with  tragedies  ;  and  this  he  certainly  did,  for 
the  poetry  he  wrote  for  them  is  some  of  the  grand- 
est that  man  ever  sung,  and  shows  us  how  these 
great   Greeks   were   longing   and  feeling  after  the 


174  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

truth,  like  blind  men  groping  in  the  dark.  The 
custom  was  to  have  three  grave  plays  or  tragedies 
on  the  same  subject  on  three  successive  days,  and 
then  to  finish  with  a  droll  one,  or  comedy,  as  it  was 
called,  in  honor  of  the  god  Comus.  There  is  one 
trilogy  of  ^Eschylus  still  preserved  to  us,  where  we 
have  the  death  of  Agamemnon,  the  vengeance  of 
Orestes,  and  his  expiation  when  pursued  by  the 
Furies,  but  the  comedy  belonging  to  them  is  lost. 

Almost  all  the  greatest  and  best  Greeks  of  this 
time  believed  in  part  in  the  philosophy  of  Pythag- 
oras, who  had  lived  in  the  former  century,  and 
taught  that  the  whole  universe  was  one  great  divine 
musical  instrument,  in  which  stars,  sun,  winds,  and 
earth  did  their  part,  and  that  man  ought  to  join 
himself  into  the  same  sweet  harmony.  He  thought 
that  if  a  man  did  ill  his  spirit  went  into  some  ani- 
mal, and  had  a  fresh  trial  to  purify  it,  but  it  does 
not  seem  as  if  many  others  believed  this  notion. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE   EXPEDITION   OF  XEKXES. 

B.C.  480. 

THE  Athenians  had  not  a  long  breathing-time. 
Darius,  indeed,  died  five  years  after  the 
battle  of  Marathon ;  but  his  son  Xerxes  was  far 
more  fiery  and  ambitious,  and  was  no  sooner  on  the 
throne  than  he  began  to  call  together  all  the  vast 
powers  of  the  East,  not  to  crush  Athens  alone,  but 
all  the  Greeks.  He  was  five  years  gathering  them 
together,  but  in  the  spring  of  480  he  set  out  from 
Sardis  to  march  to  the  Hellespont,  where  he  had  a 
bridge  of  ships  chained  together,  made  to  enable 
his  army  to  cross  the  strait  on  foot.  Xerxes  was  a 
hot-tempered  man,  not  used  to  resistance,  and  it 
was  said,  when  a  storm  broke  part  of  his  bridge,  he 
caused  the  waves  to  be  scourged  and  fetters  to  be 

thrown  in,  to  show  that  he  was  going  to  bind  it  to 

175 


176  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

his  will.  He  sat  on  a  throne  to  watch  his  armies 
pass  by.  It  is  said  that  there  were  a  myriad — 
that  is,  a  million  millions  —  of  men,  of  every  speech 
and  dress  in  Asia  and  Egypt,  with  all  sorts  of 
weapons;  and  as  the  "Great  King"  watched  the 
endless  number  pass  by,  he  burst  into  tears  to  think 
how  soon  all  this  mighty  host  would  be  dead  men  ! 

Xerxes  had  a  huge  fleet  besides,  manned  by 
Phoenicians  and  Greeks  of  Asia  Minor,  and  this  did 
not  venture  straight  across  the  iEgean,  because  of 
his  father's  disaster,  but  went  creeping  round  the 
northern  coast.  Mount  Athos,  standing  out  far 
and  steep  into  the  sea,  stood  in  the  way,  and  it  was 
dangerous  to  go  round  it ;  so  Xerxes  thought  it 
would  be  an  undertaking  worthy  of  him  to  have  a 
canal  dug  across  the  neck  that  joins  the  mountain 
to  the  land,  and  the  Greeks  declared  that  he  wrote 
a  letter  to  the  mountain  god,  bidding  him  not  to 
put  rocks  in  the  way  of  the  workmen  of  the  u  Great 
King."  Traces  of  this  canal  can  still  be  found  in 
the  ravine  behind  Mount  Athos. 

All  the  Greeks  knew  their  danger  now,  and  a 
council  from  every  city  met  at  the  Isthmus  of  Co- 
rinth to  consider  what  was  to  be  done.  All  their 
ships,  271  in  number,  were  gathered  in  a  bay  on 
the  north  of  the  great  island  of  Euboea.     There  the 


The  Expedition  of  Xerxes.  177 

Spartan  captain  of  the  whole  watched  and  waited, 
till  beacons  from  height  to  height  announced  that 
the  Persians  were  coming,  and  then  he  thought  it 
safer  to  retreat  within  the  Euripus,  the  channel  be- 
tween the  island  and  the  mainland,  which  is  so 
narrow  that  a  very  few  ships  could  stop  the  way 
of  a  whole  fleet.  However,  just  as  they  were 
within  shelter,  a  terrible  storm  arose,  which  broke 
up  and  wrecked  a  great  number  of  Persian  ships, 
though  the  number  that  were  left  still  was  far 
beyond  that  of  the  Greeks.  On  two  days  the 
Greeks  ventured  out,  and  always  gained  the 
victory  over  such  ships  as  they  encountered,  but 
were  so  much  damaged  themselves,  without  de- 
stroying anything  like  the  whole  fleet,  that  such 
fighting  was  hopeless  work. 

In  the  meantime  Xerxes,  with  his  monstrous  land 
army,  was  marching  on,  and  the  only  place  where 
it  seemed  to  the  council  at  the  Isthmus  that  he 
could  be  met  and  stopped  was  at  a  place  in 
Thessaly,  where  the  mountains  of  (Eta  rose  up  like 
a  steep  wall,  leaving  no  opening  but  towards  the 
sea,  where  a  narrow  road  wound  round  the  foot  of 
the  cliff,  and  between  it  and  the  sea  was  a  marsh 
that    men   and    horses   could    never   cross.     The 


178  Young  Folks    History  of  Greece. 

springs  that  made  this  bog  were  hot,  so  that  it  was 
called  Thermopylae,  or  the  Hot  Gates. 

The  council  at  the  Isthmus  determined  to  send 
an  army  to  stop  the  enemy  there,  if  possible. 
There  were  300  Spartans,  and  various  troops  from 
other  cities,  all  under  the  command  of  one  of  the 
Spartan  kings,  Leonidas,  who  had  married  Gorgo. 
the  girl  whose  word  had  kept  her  father  faithful. 
They  built  up  a  stone  wall  in  front  of  them,  and 
waited  for  the  enemy,  and  by-and-by  the  Persians 
came,  spreading  over  an  immense  space  in  the  rear, 
but  in  this  narrow  road  only  a  few  could  fight  at 
once,  so  that  numbers  were  of  little  use.  Xerxes 
sent  to  desire  the  Spartans  to  give  up  their  arms. 
Leonidas  only  answered,  "  Come  and  take  them." 
The  Persian  messenger  reported  that  the  Greeks 
were  sitting  on  the  wall  combing  their  hair,  while 
others  were  playing  at  Avarlike  games.  Xerxes 
thought  they  were  mad,  but  a  traitor  Spartan 
whom  he  had  in  his  camp  said  it  was  always  the 
fashion  of  his  countrymen  before  any  very  perilous 
battle.  Xerxes  made  so  sure  of  victory  over  such 
a  handful  of  men,  that  he  bade  his  captains  bring 
them  all  alive  to  him ;  but  day  after  day  his  best 
troops  fell  beaten  back  from  the  wall,  and  hardly  a 
Greek  was  slain. 


The  Expedition  of  Xerxes.  179 

But,  alas!  there  was  a  mountain  path  through 
the  chestnut  woods  above.  Leonidas  had  put  a 
guard  of  Phocian  soldiers  to  watch  it,  and  the 
Persians  did  not  know  of  it  till  a  wretch,  named 
Ephialtes,  for  the  sake  of  reward,  came  and  offered 


PASS   OF  THERMOPYLAE. 


to  show  them  the  way,  so  that  they  might  fall  on 
the  defenders  of  the  pass  from  behind.  In  the  still- 
ness of  the  dawn,  the  Phocians  heard  the  trampling 
of  a  multitude  on  the  dry  chestnut  leaves.  They 
stood  to  arms,  but  as  soon  as  the  Persians  shot  their 


180  Young  Folks''  History  of  Greece. 

arrows  at  them  they  fled  away  and  left  the  path  open. 
Soon  it  was  known  in  the  camp  that  the  foe  were  on 
the  hills  above.  There  was  still  time  to  retreat, 
and  Leonidas  sent  off  all  the  allies  to  save  their 
lives ;  bnt  he  himself  and  his  300  Spartans,  with  TOO 
Thespians,  would  not  leave  their  post,  meaning  to 
sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible.  The  Delphic 
oracle  had  said  that  either  Sparta  or  a  king  of 
Sparta  must  perish,  and  he  was  ready  to  give  him- 
self for  his  country.  Two  young  cousins  of  the 
line  of  Hercules  he  tried  to  save,  by  telling  them 
to  bear  his  messages  home  ;  but  one  answered  that 
he  had  come  to  fight,  not  carry  letters,  and  the 
other  that  they  would  fight  first,  and  then  take 
home  the  news.  Two  more  Spartans,  whose  eyes 
were  diseased,  were  at  the  hot  baths  near.  One 
went  back  with  the  allies,  the  other  caused  his 
Helot  to  lead  him  to  the  camp,  where,  in  the 
evening,  all  made  ready  to  die,  and  Leonidas  sat 
down  to  his  last  meal,  telling  his  friends  that  on 
the  morrow  they  should  sup  with  Pluto.  One  of 
these  Thespians  had  answered,  when  he  was  told 
that  the  Persian  arrows  came  so  thickly  as  to  hide 
the  sky,  "  So  much  the  better ;  we  shall  fight  in  the 
shade." 

The  Persians  were  bv  this  time  so  much  afraid 


mT%tl  \  P5* 


IK.  W 


l^^^C 


afe^dS*:i:Vi:^3^ 


EPHIALTES    LEADING   THE    PERSIANS. 


The  Expedition  of  Xerxes.  183 

of  these  brave  men  that  they  could  only  be  driven 

against  them  by  whips.     Leonidas  and  his  thousand 

burst   out  on   them  beyond   the   wall,  and   there 

fought  the  whole  day,  till  everyone  of  them  was 

slain,  but  with  heaps  upon  heaps  of  dead  Persians 

round  them,  so  that,  when  Xerxes  looked  at  the 

spot,  he  asked  in   horror  whether  all  the  Greeks 

were  like  these,  and  how  many  more  Spartans  there 

were.      Like  a  barbarian,  he  had  Leonidas'  body 

hung  on  a  cross ;  but  in  after  times  the  brave  king's 

bones  were  buried  on  the  spot,  and  a  mound  raised 

over  the  other  warriors,  with  the  words  engraven  — 

"  Go,  passer-by,  at  Sparta  tell, 
Obedient  to  her  law,  we  fell. 

There  was  nothing  now  between  the  Persians  and 
the  temple  at  Delphi.  The  priests  asked  the  oracle  if 
they  should  bury  the  treasures.,  "No,"  the  answer 
was ;  "  the  god  will  protect  its  own."  And  just  as  a 
party  of  Persians  were  climbing  up  the  heights  to 
the  magnificent  temple  there  was  a  tremendous 
storm ;  rocks,  struck  by  lightning,  rolled  down,  and 
the  Persians  fled  in  dismay ;  but  it  is  said  Xerxes 
sent  one  man  to  insult  the  heathen  god,  and  that  he 
was  a  Jew,  and  therefore  had  no  fears,  and  came 
back  safe. 

Now  that  Thermopylae  was  lost,  there  was  no 


184  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

place  fit  to  guard  short  of  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth, 
and  the  council  decided  to  build  a  wall  across  that, 
and  defend  it,  so  as  to  save  the  Peloponnesus. 
This  left  Attica  outside,  and  the  Athenians  held 
anxious  council  what  was  to  become  of  them. 
Before  the  way  to  Delphi  was  stopped,  they  had 
asked  the  oracle  what  they  were  to  do,  and  the 
answer  had  been,  "  Pallas  had  prayed  for  her  city, 
but  it  was  doomed  ;  yet  a  wooden  wall  should  save 
her  people,  and  at  Salamis  should  women  be  made 
childless,  at  seed-time  or  harvest." 

Themistocles  said  the  wooden  walls  meant  the 
ships,  and  that  the  Athenians  were  all  to  sail  away 
and  leave  the  city.  Others  would  have  it  that  the 
wooden  walls  were  the  old  thorn  fence  of  the 
Acropolis,  and  these,  being  mostly  old  people,  chose 
to  stay,  while  all  the  rest  went  away ;  and  while 
the  wives  and  children  were  kindly  sheltered  by 
their  friends  in  the  Peloponnesus,  the  men  all  joined 
the  fleet,  which  lay  off  Salamis,  and  was  now  366  in 
number.  The  Persians  overran  the  whole  country, 
overcame  the  few  who  held  the  Acropolis,  and 
set  Athens  on  fire.  All  the  hope  of  Greece  was 
now  in  the  fleet,  which  lay  in  the  strait  between 
Attica  and  the  isle  of  Salamis.  Eurybiades,  the 
Spartan  commander,  still  wanted  not  to  fight,  but 


The  Expedition  of  Xerxes,  185 

Themistocles  was  resolved  on  the  battle.  Eury- 
biades  did  all  he  could  to  silence  him.  "Those 
who  begin  a  race  before  the  signal  are  scourged," 
said  the  Spartan.  "  True,"  said  Themistocles ; 
"but  the  laggards  never  win  a  crown."  Eurybia- 
des  raised  his  leading  staff  as  if  to  give  him  a  blow. 
"  Strike,  but  hear  me,"  said  Themistocles ;  and 
then  he  showed  such  good  reason  for  there  meeting 
the  battle  that  Eurybiades  gave  way.  Six  days 
later  the  Persian  fleet,  in  all  its  grandeur,  came  up, 
and  Xerxes  caused  his  throne  to  be  set  on  Mount 
^Egaloes,  above  the  strait,  that  he  might  see  the 
battle.  The  doubts  of  the  Peloponnesians  revived. 
They  wanted  to  sail  away  and  guard  their  own 
shores,  but  Themistocles  was  so  resolved  that  they 
should  fight  that  he  sent  a  slave  with  a  message  to 
Xerxes,  pretending  to  be  a  traitor,  and  advising 
him  to  send  ships  to  stop  up  the  other  end  of  the 
strait,  to  cut  off  their  retreat.  This  was  done  to 
the  horror  of  honest  Aristides,  who,  still  exiled, 
was  in  ^Egina,  wat clung  what  to  do  for  his  country- 
men. In  a  little  boat  he  made  his  way  at  night  to 
the  ship  where  council  was  being  held,  and  begged 
that  Themistocles  might  be  called  out.  "  Let  us 
be  rivals  still,"  he  said  ;  "  but  let  our  strife  be  which 
can  serve  our  country  best.     I  come  to  say  that 


186  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

your  retreat  is  cut  off.  We  are  surrounded,  and 
must  fight."  Themistocles  said  it  was  the  best 
thing  that  could  happen,  and  ]ed  him  into  the 
council  with  his  tidings. 

They  did  fight.  Ship  was  dashed  against  ship. as 
fast  as  oars  could  bring  them,  their  pointed  beaks 
bearing  one  another  down.  The  women  who  were 
made  childless  were  Persian  women.  Two  hun- 
dred Persian  ships  were  sunk,  and  only  forty  Greek 
ones  ;  an  immense  number  were  taken ;  and  Xerxes, 
from  his  throne,  saw  such  utter  ruin  of  all  his  hopes 
and  plans,  that  he  gave  up  all  thought  of  anything 
but  getting  his  land  army  back  to  the  Hellespont 
as  fast  as  possible,  for  his  fleet  was  gone  ! 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  BATTLE   OF  PLAT^EA. 
B.C.  479—460. 

AFTER  being  thus  beaten  by  sea,  and  having 
learnt  what  Greeks  were  by  land,  Xerxes 
himself,  with  a  broken,  sick,  and  distressed  army, 
went  back  to  Sardis ;  but  he  left  a  satrap  named 
Mardonius  behind  him,  with  his  best  troops,  in 
Thessaly,  to  see  whether  anything  could  still  be 
done  for  his  cause.  He  did  try  whether  the 
Athenians  could  be  persuaded  to  desert  the  other 
Greeks,  and  become  allies  of  Persia,  but  they  made 
a  noble  answer — uSo  long  as  the  sun  held  his 
course,  the  Athenians  would  never  be  friends  to 
Xerxes.  Great  as  might  be  his  power,  Athens 
trusted  to  the  aid  of  the  gods  and  heroes  whose 
temple  he  had  burnt." 

After   this   answer,    Mardonius    marched   again 

187 


188  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 


into  Attica,  and  took  possession  of  it ;  but  as  the 
Athenians  were  now  all  safe  in  Salamis,  or  among 
their  friends,  he  could  not  do  them  much  harm ; 
and,  while  he  was  finishing  the  ruin  he  had  begun 
ten  months  before,  the  Spartans  had  raised  their 
army,  under  the  command  of  their  king,  Pausanias, 
nephew  to  Leonidas,  with  all  the  best  soldiers  from 
the  other  Greek  cities.  They  came  up  with  the 
Persians  near  the  city  of  Platsea.  Though  a  Spar- 
tan, Pausanius  had  rather  not  have  fought ;  but 
when  at  last  the  battle  began,  it  was  a 
grand  victory  and  was  gained  in  a 
wonderfully  short  time.  The  Spartans 
killed  Marclonius,  and  put  the  best  Per- 
sian troops,  called  the  immortals,  to 
flight ;  and  the  Athenians,  under  Aris- 
tides,  fought  with  the  Thebans,  who 
had  joined  the  Persian  army.  The 
whole  Persian  camp  was  sacked.  The 
Helots  were  sent  to  collect  the  spoil. 
and  put  all  together.  They  stole  a 
good  deal  of  the  gold,  which  they  took 
for  brass,  and  sold  it  as  such.  Wagon- 
persian  soldier,  loads  of  silver  and  gold  vessels  were  to 
be  seen  ;  collars,  bracelets,  and  rich  armor  ;  and  the 
manger  of  Xerxes'  horses,  which  he  had  left  behind, 


The  Battle  of  Platcea.  189 

and  which  was  of  finely-worked  brass.  Pausanias 
bade  the  slaves  of  Mardonius  to  prepare  such  a 
feast  as  their  master  was  used  to,  and  then  called 
his  friends  to  see  how  useless  were  all  the  carpets, 
cushions,  curtains,  gold  and  silver,  and  the  dainties 
upon  them,  and  how  absurd  it  was  to  set  out  on  a 
conquering  expedition  thus  encumbered. 

A  tenth  of  the  spoil  was  set  apart  for  Apollo,  and 
formed  into  a  golden  tripod,  supported  by  a  brazen 
serpent  with  three  heads.  A  great  statue  of  Jupiter 
was  sent  to  Olympia,  the  pedestal  adorned  with  the 
names  of  all  the  cities  which  had  sent  men  to  the 
battle,  and  such  another  of  Neptune  was  set  up  on 
the  Isthmus ;  while  a  temple  to  Athene,  adorned 
with  pictures  of  the  battle,  was  built  on  the  spot 
near  Platsea.  Pausanias  received  a  sample  of  all 
that  was  best  of  the  spoil.  Among  the  dead  was 
found  that  one  Spartan  who  had  missed  Ther- 
mopylae. He  had  been  miserable  ever  since,  and 
only  longed  to  die  in  battle,  as  now  he  had  done. 
The  Platseans  were  to  be  respected  by  all  the  other 
states  of  Greece,  so  long  as  they  yearly  performed 
funeral  rites  in  honor  of  the  brave  men  whose 
tombs  were  left  in  their  charge. 

On  the  same  day  as  the  battle  of  Plataea  was 
fought,  another  great  battle  was  fought  at  Mykale, 


190  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

near  Miletus,  by  the  Ionian  Greeks  of  Asia,  assisted 
by  Athenians  and  Spartans.  It  set  Miletus  free 
from  the  Persians,  and  was  the  first  step  backwards 
of  their  great  power.  The  Athenian  fleet  also 
gained  back  the  Chersonesus,  and  brought  home  the 
chains  that  fastened  together  the  bridge  of  boats, 
to  be  dedicated  in  the  temples  of  their  own  gods. 

The  Athenians  were  all  coming  home  rejoicing. 
Even  the  very  week  after  Xerxes  had  burnt  the 
Acropolis,  the  sacred  olive  which  Pallas  Athene 
was  said  to  have  given  them  had  shot  out  a  long 
branch  from  the  stump,  and  now  it  was  growing 
well,  to  their  great  joy  and  encouragement.  Every- 
one began  building  up  his  own  house  ;  and 
Themistocles,  Aristides,  and  the  other  statesmen 
prepared  to  build  strong  walls  round  the  city, 
though  the  Spartans  sent  messengers  to  persuade 
them  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  have  any  fortified 
cities  outside  the  Peloponnesus ;  but  they  knew 
this  was  only  because  the  Spartans  wanted  to  be 
masters  of  Greece,  and  would  not  attend  to  them. 
Athens  stood  about  three  miles  from  the  coast,  and 
in  the  port  there  had  hitherto  been  a  village  called 
Pirseus,  and  Themistocles  persuaded  the  citizens  to 
make  this  as  strong  as  possible,  with  a  wall  of  solid 
stone  round  it.     These  were  grand  days  at  Athens. 


The  Battle  of  Platoea.  191 

They  had  noble  architects  and  sculptors ;  and 
^Eschylus  was  writing  the  grandest  of  his  tragedies 
—  especially  one  about  the  despair  of  the  Persian 
women — but  only  fragments  of  most  of  them  have 
come  down  to  our  time. 

In  375  Aristides  died,  greatly  honored,  though 
he  was  so  poor  that  he  did  not  leave  enough  to  pa}^ 
his  funeral  expenses ;  but  a  monument  was  raised 
to  him  by  the  State,  and  there  is  only  one  Athenian 
name  as  pure  and  noble  as  his. 

The  two  other  men  who  shared  with  him  the 
honors  of  the  defeat  of  the  Persians  met  with  very 
different  fates,  and  by  their  own  fault.  When 
Pausanias  went  back  to  Sparta  lie  found  his  life 
there  too  stern  and  full  of  restraint,  after  what  he 
had  been  used  to  in  his  campaign.  He  tried  to 
break  down  the  power  of  the  Ephors,  and  obtain 
something  more  like  royalty  for  the  kings,  and  this 
he  hoped  to  do  by  the  help  of  Persia.  He  used  to 
meet  the  messenger  of  this  traitorous  correspon- 
dence in  the  temple  of  Neptune,  in  the  promontory 
of  Tsenarus.  Some  of  the  Ephors  were  warned, 
hid  themselves  there,  and  heard  his  treason  from  his 
own  lips.  They  sent  to  arrest  him  as  soon  as  he 
came  back  to  Sparta ;  but  he  took  refuge  in  the 
temple  of  Pallas,  whence  he  could  not  be  dragged. 


192  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

However,  the  Spartans  were  determined  to  have 
justice  on  him.  They  walled  up  the  temple,  so 
that  he  could  neither  escape  nor  have  food  brought 
to  him ;  indeed  it  is  said  that,  in  horror  at  his 
treason,  his  mother  brought  the  first  stone.  When 
he  was  at  the  point  of  death  he  was  taken  out,  that 
the  sanctuary  might  not  be  polluted,  and  he  died 
just  as  he  was  carried  out.  The  Spartans  buried 
him  close  to  the  temple,  and  gave  Pallas  two 
statues  of  him,  to  make  up  for  the  suppliant  she  had 
lost,  but  they  were  always  reproached  for  the  sacri- 
lege. 

Themistocles  was  a  friend  of  Pausanias,  and  was 
suspected  of  being  mixed  up  in  his  plots.  He  was 
obliged  to  flee  the  country,  and  went  to  Epirus, 
where  he  came  to  the  house  of  King  Admetus, 
where  the  queen,  Phthia,  received  him,  and  told 
him  how  to  win  her  husband's  protection,  namely, 
by  sitting  down  on  the  hearth  by  the  altar  to  the 
household  gods,  and  holding  her  little  son  in  his 
arms. 

When  Admetus  came  in,  Themistocles  entreated 
him  to  have  pity  on  his  defenceless  state.  The 
king  raised  him  up  and  promised  his  protection, 
and  kept  his  word.  Themistocles  was  taken  by 
two  guides  safely  across  the  mountains  to  Pydna, 


The   Battle  of  Platcea.  193 

where  he  found  a  merchant  ship  about  to  sail  for 
Asia.  A  storm  drove  it  to  the  island  of  Naxos, 
which  was  besieged  by  an  Athenian  fleet ;  and 
Themistocles  must  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
his  fellow-citizens  if  he  had  landed,  but  he  told  the 
master  of  the  ship  that  it  would  be  the  ruin  of  all 
alike  if  he  were  found  in  the  vessel,  and  promised 
a  large  reward  if  he  escaped.  So  the  crew  con- 
sented to  beat  about  a  whole  day  and  night,  and  in 
the  morning  landed  safely  near  Ephesus.  He  kept 
his  word  to  the  captain ;  for  indeed  he  was  very 
rich,  having  taken  bribes,  while  Aristides  remained 
in  honorable  poverty.  He  went  to  Susa,  where 
Xerxes  was  dead ;  but  the  Persians  had  fancied 
his  message  before  the  battle  of  Salamis  was  really 
meant  to  serve  them,  and  that  he  was  suffering  for 
his  attachment  to  them,  so  the  new  king,  Arta- 
xerxes,  the  "  Long-armed,"  who  had  a  great  es- 
teem for  his  cleverness,  was  greatly  delighted, 
offered  up  a  sacrifice  in  his  joy,  and  three  times 
cried  out  in  his  sleep,  "  I  have  got  Themistocles 
the  Athenian." 

Themistocles  had  asked  to  wait  a  year  before 
seeing  the  king,  that  he  might  have  time  to  learn 
the  language.  When  he  came,  he  put  forward 
such  schemes   for   conquering    Greece  that  Arta- 


194  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

xerxes  was  delighted,  and  gave  him  a  Persian  wife, 
and  large  estates  on  the  banks  of  the  Meeander, 
where  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  life,  very  rich,  but 
despised  by  all  honest  Greeks. 

All  the  history  of  the  war  with  Xerxes  was 
written  by  Herodotus,  a  Greek  of  Caria,  who  trav- 
eled about  to  study  the  manners,  customs,  and  his- 
tories of  different  nations,  and  recorded  them  in 
the  most  lively  and  spirited  manner,  so  that  he  is 
often  called  the  father  of  history. 

^Eschylus  went  on  gaining  prizes  for  his  trage- 
dies, till  468,  when,  after  being  thirteen  times  first, 
he  was  excelled  by  another  Athenian  named  Sopho- 
cles, and  was  so  much  vexed  that  he  withdrew  to 
the  Greek  colonies  in  Sicily.  It  is  not  clear 
whether  he  ever  came  back  to  Athens  for  a  time, 
but  he  certainly  died  in  Sicily,  and  in  an  extraor- 
dinary way.  He  was  asleep  on  the  sea-shore,  when 
an  eagle  flew  above  him  with  a  tortoise  in  its  claws. 
It  is  the  custom  of  eagles  to  break  the  shells  of 
these  creatures  by  letting  them  fall  on  rocks  from  a 
great  height.  The  bird  took  Eschylus'  bald  head 
for  a  stone,  threw  down  the  tortoise,  broke  his 
skull,  and  killed  him  ! 

Sophocles  did  not  write  such  grand  lines,  yearn- 
ing for  the  truth,  as  iEschylus,  but  his   plays,  of 


The  Battle  of  Platcea.  195 

Ajax'  madness,  and  especially  of  Antigone's  self- 
devotion,  were  more  touching,  and  fall  of  human 
feeling ;  and  Euripides,  who  was  a  little  younger, 
wrote  plays  more  like  those  of  later  times,  with 
more  of  story  in  them,  and  more  characters,  espe- 
cially of  women.  He  even  wrote  one  in  which  he 
represented  Helen  as  never  having  been  unfaithful 
at  all ;  Venus  only  made  up  a  cloud-image  to  be 
run  away  with  by  Paris,  and  Helen  was  carried 
away  and  hidden  in  Egypt,  where  Menelaus  found 
her,  and  took  her  home.  The  works  of  these  three 
great  men  have  always  been  models.  The  Greeks 
knew  their  plays  by  heart,  almost  as  perfectly  as 
the  Iliad  and  Odyssey,  and  used  to  quote  lines 
wherever  they  applied. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

THE  AGE   OF  PERICLES. 
B.C.  464—429. 

ATHENS  and  Sparta  were  now  quite  the 
greatest  powers  in  Greece.  No  other  state 
had  dared  to  make  head  against  the  Persians,  and 
all  the  lesser  cities,  and  the  isles  and  colonies,  were 
anxious  to  obtain  the  help  and  friendship  of  one  or 
other  as  their  allies.  The  two  states  were  always 
rivals,  and  never  made  common  cause^^cept  when 
the  Persian  enemy  was  before  them,  in  the  year 
464  there  was  a  terrible  earthquake  in  Laconia, 
which  left  only  five  houses  standing  in  Sparta,  and 
buried  great  numbers  in  the  ruins.  The  youths, 
who  were  all  together  in  one  building  exercising 
themselves,  were  almost  all  killed  by  its  fall ;  and 
the  disaster  would  have  been  worse  if  the  king 
Archidamas,   had  not  caused  the   trumpet  to   be 

196 


The  Age  of  Pericles.  197 

blown,  as  if  to  call  the  people  to  arms,  just  outside 
the  city.  This  brought  all  the  men  in  order 
together  just  in  time,  for  the  Helots  were  rising 
against  them,  and,  if  they  had  found  them  groping 
each  in  the  ruins  of  his  house,  might  have  killed 
them  one  by  one ;  whereas,  finding  them  up  and 
armed,  the  slaves  saw  it  was  in  vain,  and  dispersed. 
The  Messenians,  who  had  never  forgotten  Aristo- 
demus,  hoped  to  free  themselves  again.  A  great 
many  of  the  Helots  joined  them,  and  they  made 
their  fortified  hill  of  Ithome  very  strong.  The 
Spartans  called  on  the  Athenians  to  help  them  to 
put  down  the  insurrection.  The  three  greatest 
men  in  Athens  were  Pericles,  the  son  of  that 
Xanthippus  who  had  impeached  Miltiades;  Kinifai, 
the  son  of  Miltiades  himself ;  and  Ephialtes,  a  great 
orator,  who  was  thought  to  be  as  upright  as 
Aristides  the  Just.  When  the  request  from  Sparta 
came,  Ephialtes  was  against  helping  the  rival  of 
Athens;  but  Kimon,  who  had  friends  in  Laconia, 
declared  that  it  would  be  unbecoming  in  Athens  to 
let  Greece  be  crippled  in  one  of  her  two  legs,  or  to 
lose  her  own  yoke-fellow.  He  prevailed,  and  was 
sent  with  an  army  to  help  in  the  siege  of  Ithome  ; 
but  it  was  such  a  tardy  siege  that  the  Spartans 
fancied  that  the  Athenians  had  an  understanding 


198  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

Avith  the  Messenians,  and  desired  them  to  go  home 
again,  thus,  of  course,  affronting  them  exceedingly. 
Two  years  after,  Kim8n  was  ostracised ;  but  soon 
after  the  Spartans  affronted  the  Athenians,  by 
placing  a#  troop  of  men  at  Tanagra,  on  the  borders 
of  Attica.  The  Athenians  went  out  to  attack 
them,  and  Kim 611  sent  to  entreat  permission  to 
fight  among  his  tribe,  but  he  was  not  trusted,  and 
was  forbidden.  He  sent  his  armor  to  his  friends  — 
a  hundred  in  number  —  and  bade  them  maintain  his 
honor.  They  were  all  killed,  fighting  bravely,  and 
the  victory  was  with  the  Spartans.  Soon  after,  the 
virtuous  Ephialtes  was  stabbed  by  some  unknown 
person,  and  Pericles,  feeling  that  good  men  could 
not  be  spared,  moved  that  Kimon  should  be  called 
home  again.  Kimcm  was  much  loved;  he  was  tall 
and  handsome,  with  curly  hair  and  beard  ;  and  he 
was  open-handed,  leaving  his  orchards  and  gardens 
free  to  all,  and  keeping  a  table  for  every  chance 
guest.  Yet  he  much  admired  the  Spartans  and 
their  discipline,  and  he  contrived  to  bring  about  a 
five-years'  truce  between  the  two  great  powers. 
The  greatest  benefit  he  gave  his  people  was  the 
building  of  the  Long  Walls,  which  joined  Athens 
and  the  Piraeus  together,  so  that  the  city  could 
never  be  cut  off  from  the  harbor.     Kimon  began 


The  Age  of  Pericles.  199 

them  at  his  own  expense,  and  Pericles  persuaded 
the  Athenians  to  go  on  with  them,  when  their 
founder  had  been  sent  on  an  expedition  to  the  isle 
of  Cyprus,  which  was  rising  against  the  Persians. 
There  Kinifoi  fell  sick  and  died,  but  his  fleet, 
immediately  after,  won  a  grand  victory  over  the 
Phoenician  and  Cilician  fleets,  in  the  Persian 
service. 

However,  some  hot-headed  young  Athenians 
were  beaten  at  Coronea  by  the  Boeotians,  who  were 
Spartan  allies,  and  a  good  many  small  losses  befel 
them  by  land,  till  they  made  another  peace  for 
thirty  years  in  445.  There  was  nobody  then  in 
Athens,  or  Greece  either,  equal  to  Pericles,  who 
was  managing  all  affairs  in  his  own  city  with  great 
wisdom,  and  making  it  most  beautiful  with  public 
buildings.  On  the  rock  of  the  Acropolis  stood  the 
Parthenon,  the  temple  of  the  virgin  goddess  Pallas 
Athene,  which  was  adorned  with  a  portico,  the  re- 
mains of  which  still  stands  up  gloriously  against  the 
blue  Grecian  sky.  The  bas-relief  carvings  on  the 
pediments,  representing  the  fight  between  the  Cen- 
taurs and  Lapithae,  are  now  in  the  British  Museum ; 
though  the  statue  itself  is  gone,  still  seals  and  gems 
remain,  made  to  imitate  it,  and  showing  the  perfect 
beauty  of  the  ivory  and  gold  statue  of  Athene  her- 


200  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

self,  which  was  carved  by  the  great  sculptor  Phidias, 
and  placed  within  the  temple.  When  there  was  a 
question  whether  this  figure  should  be  made  of 
marble  or  of  ivory,  and  Phidias  recommended 
marble  as  the  cheapest,  the  whole  assembly  of 
Athenians  voted  for  ivory. 

A  beautiful  fortification  called  the  Propylsea 
guarded  the  west  side  of  the  Acropolis,  where  only 
there  was  no  precipice ;  and  there  were  other 
splendid  buildings  —  a  new,  open  theatre,  for  the 
acting  of  those  unrivalled  tragedies  of  the  three 
Athenian  poets,  and  of  others  which  have  been 
lost;  a  Museum,  which  did  not  then  mean  a 
collection  of  curiosities,  but  a  place  where  the  youth 
might  study  all  the  arts  sacred  to  the  Muses ;  a 
Lyceum  for  their  exercises,  and  schools  for  the 
philosophers.  These  schools  were  generally  colon- 
nades of  pillars  supporting  roofs  to  give  shelter 
from  the  sun,  and  under  one  of  these  taught  the 
greatest,  wisest,  and  best  of  all  truth-seekers, 
namely,  Socrates. 

Though  the  houses  at  Athens  stood  irregularly 
on  their  steep  hill,  there  was  no  place  in  the  work] 
equal  to  it  for  beauty  in  its  buildings,  its  sculptures,, 
and  its  carvings,  and,  it  is  also  said,  in  its  paint- 
ings ;  but  none  of  these  have  come  down  to  our 


The  Age- of  Pericles.  201 

times.  Everything  belonging  to  the  Athenians  was 
at  this  time  full  of  simple,  manly  grace  and  beauty, 
and  in  both  body  and  mind  they  were  trying  to 
work  up  to  the  greatest  perfection  they  could 
devise,  without  any  aid  outside  themselves  to  help 
them. 

But  they  had  come  to  the  very  crown  of  their 
glory.  When  a  war  arose  between  the  Corinthians 
and  the  Corcyrans,  who  inhabited  the  isle  now 
called  Corfu,  the  Corcyrans  asked  to  be  made  al- 
lies of  Athens,  and  a  fleet  was  sent  to  help  them  ; 
and  as  the  Corinthians  held  with  Sparta,  this 
brought  on  a  great  war  between  Athens  and  Sparta, 
which  was  called  the  Peloponnesian  war,  and  lasted 
thirty  years.  It  was  really  to  decide  which  of  the 
two  great  cities  should  be  chief,  and  both  were 
equally  determined. 

As  Attica  had  borders  open  to  the  enemy,  Peri- 
cles advised  all  the  people  in  the  country  to  move 
into  the  town.  They  sent  their  flocks  into  the  isle 
of  Eubcea,  brought  their  other  goods  with  them, 
and  left  their  beautiful  farms  and  gardens  to  be 
ravaged  by  the  enemy ;  while  the  crowd  found 
dwellings  in  a  place  under  the  west  side  of  the 
Acropolis  rock,  which  had  hitherto  been  left  empty, 
because  an  oracle  had  declared  it  "  better  untrod- 


202  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

den."  Such  numbers  coming  within  the  walls 
could  not  be  healthy,  and  a  deadly  plague  began  to 
prevail,  which  did  Athens  as  much  harm  as  the 
war.  In  the  meantime,  Pericles,  who  was  alwa}^s 
cautious,  persuaded  the  people  to  be  patient,  and 
not  to  risk  battles  by  land,  where  the  Spartans 
fought  as  well  they  did,  whereas  nobody  was  their 
equal  by  sea ;  and  as  their  fleet  and  their  many 
isles  could  save  them  from  hunger,  they  could  wear 
out  their  enemies,  and  be  fresh  themselves ;  but  it 
was  hard  to  have  plague  within  and  Spartans  wast- 
ing their  homes  and  fields  without.  Brave  little 
Plataea,  too,  was  closely  besieged.  All  the  useless 
persons  had  been  sent  to  Athens,  and  there  were 
only  400  Plataean  and  80  Athenian  men  in  it,  and 
110  women  to  wait  on  them ;  and  the  Spartans 
blockaded  these,  and  tried  to  starve  them  out,  un- 
til, after  more  than  a  year  of  famine,  220  of  them 
scrambled  over  the  walls  on  a  dark,  wet  night,  cut 
their  way  through  the  Spartan  camp,  and  safely 
reached  Athens.  The  other  200  had  thought  the 
attempt  so  desperate,  that  they  sent  in  the  morning 
to  beg  leave  to  bury  the  corpses  of  their  comrades ; 
but  they  then  heard  that  onty  one  man  had  fallen. 
They  held  out  a  few  months  longer,  and  then  were 
all  put  to  death,  while  the  women  were  all  made 


The  Aye  of  Pericles.  203 

slaves.     The  children  and  the  220  were  all  made 
one  with  the  Athenians. 

Athens  was  in  a  piteous  state  from  the  sickness, 
which  had  cut  off  hosts  of  people  of  all  ranks.  It 
lasted  seven  or  nine  days  in  each,  and  seems  to 
have  been  a  malignant  fever.  Pericles  lost  his 
oldest  son,  his  sister,  and  almost  all  his  dearest 
friends  in  it ;  but  still  he  went  about  calm,  grave, 
and  resolute,  keeping  up  the  hopes  and  patience 
of  the  Athenians.  Then  his  youngest  and  last  son 
died  of  the  same  sickness,  and  when  the  time  came 
for  placing  the  funeral  garland  on  his  head,  Peri- 
cles broke  down,  and  wept  and  sobbed  aloud. 
Shortly  after,  he  fell  sick  himself,  and  lingered 
much  longer  than  was  usual  with  sufferers  from 
the  plague.  Once,  when  his  friends  came  in,  he 
showed  them  a  charm  which  the  women  had  hung 
round  his  neck,  and,  smiling,  asked  them  whether 
enduring  such  folly  did  not  show  that  he  must  be 
very  ill  indeed.  Soon  after,  when  he  was  sinking 
away,  and  they  thought  him  insensible,  they  began 
to  talk  of  the  noble  deeds  he  had  done,  his  speeches, 
his  wisdom  and  learning,  and  his  buildings :  "  he 
had  found  Athens  of  brick,"  they  said,  "  and  had 
left  her  of  marble."  Suddenly  the  sick  man  raised 
himself  in  his  bed,  and  said,  "  I  wonder  you  praise 


204  Young  Folks*  History  of  Greece. 

these  things  in  me.  They  were  as  much  owing  to 
fortune  as  to  anything  else  ;  and  yet  you  leave  out 
what  is  my  special  honor,  namely,  that  I  never 
caused  any  fellow-citizen  to  put  on  mourning. "  So 
died  this  great  man,  in  429,  the  third  year  of  the 
Peloponnesian  war. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

THE  EXPEDITION   TO   SICILY. 
B.C.  415  —  413. 

r  I  AHE  Peloponnesian  war  went  on  much  in  the 
•*-  same  way  for  some  months  after  the  death  of 
Pericles.  There  was  no  such  great  man  left  in 
Athens.  Socrates,  the  wise  and  deep-thinking 
philosopher,  did  not  attend  to  state  affairs  more 
than  was  his  duty  as  a  citizen ;  and  the  leading 
man  for  some  years  was  Nikias.  Hte  was  an  honest, 
upright  man,  but  not  clever,  and  afraid  of  every- 
thing new,  so  that  he  was  not  the  person  to  help  in 
time  of  strange  dangers. 

There  was  a  youth  growing  up,  however,  of  great 
ability.  His  name  was  Alkibiades.  He  was  of 
high  and  noble  family,  but  he  had  lost  his  parents 
very  young,  and  Pericles  had  been  his  guardian, 
taking  great  care  of  his  property,  so  that  he  was 

205 


206 


Young  Folks'  History  of  G-reece. 


exceedingly  rich.  He  was  very  beautiful  in  person, 
and  that  was  thought  of  greatly  at  Athens,  though 
he  was  laughed  at  for  the  pains  he  took  to  show  off 
his  beauty,  and  for  carrying  out  to  battle  a  shield 
inlaid  with   gold  and  ivory,   representing   Cupid 


THE  ACADEMIC  GROVE,  ATHENS. 


hurling  Jupiter's  thunderbolts.  His  will  was  so 
determined,  that,  when  he  was  a  little  boy  at  play 
in  the  street,  and  saw  a  wagon  coming  which  would 
have  spoiled  his  arrangements,  he  laid  himself  down 
before  the  wheels  to  stop  it.  He  learnt  easily,  and, 
when  he  was  with  Socrates,  would  talk  as  well  and 


The  Expedition  to  Sicily.  207 

wisely  as  any  philosopher  of  them  all ;  and  Socrates 
really  seems  to  have  loved  the  bright,  beautiful  youth 
even  more  than  his  two  graver  and  worthier  pupils, 
Plato  and  Xenophon,  perhaps  because  in  one  of 
Alkibiades'  first  battles,  at  Delium,  he  had  been 
very  badly  wounded,  and  Socrates  had  carried  him 
safely  out  of  the  battle  on  his  broad  shoulders. 
Socrates  was  very  strong,  but  one  of  the  ugliest  of 
men,  and  the  Athenians  were  amused  at  the  con- 
trast between  master  and  pupil. 

But  nobody  could  help  loving  Alkibiades  in 
these  early  years,  and  he  was  a  sort  of  spoiled  child 
of  the  people.  He  won  three  crowds  in  the  chariot 
races  at  the  Olympic  games,  and  feasted  and  made 
presents  to  his  fellow-citizens  afterwards,  and  he  was 
always  doing  some  strange  thing  in  order  to  make 
a  sensation.  The  first  day  that  he  was  old  enough 
to  be  admitted  to  the  public  assembly,  while  he 
was  being  greeted  there,  he  let  loose  a  tame  quail, 
which  he  carried  about  under  his  cloak,  and  no 
business  could  be  done  till  it  had  been  caught. 
Another  time  he  came  very  late,  with  a  garland  on 
his  head,  and  desired  to  have  the  sitting  put  off  be- 
cause he  had  a  feast  at  his  house ;  and  the  grave 
archons  actually  granted  his  request.  But  the 
strangest  thing  he  did  was  to  cut  off  the  tail  of  his 


208  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

beautiful  dog,  that,  as  he  said,  the  Athenians  might 
have  something  to  talk  about.  In  truth  he  made 
everything  give  way  to  his  freaks  and  self-will ; 
and  he  was  a  harsh  and  unkind  husband,  and  inso- 
lent to  his  father-in-law ;  and,  as  time  went  on,  he 
offended  a  great  many  persons  by  his  pride  and 
rudeness  and  selfishness,  so  that  his  brilliancy  did 
little  good. 

There  were  Greek  colonies  in  Sicily,  but  these 
were  mostly  in  the  interest  of  Sparta.  There  had 
been  some  fighting  there  in  the  earlier  years  of  the 
war,  and  Alkibiades  was  very  anxious  to  lead 
another  expedition  thither.  Nikias  thought  this 
imprudent,  and  argued  much  against  it ;  but  the 
effect  of  his  arguments  was  that  the  Athenians 
chose  to  join  him  in  the  command  of  it  with  Alki- 
biades, much  against  his  will,  for  he  was  elderly, 
and  out  of  health,  and,  of  all  men  in  Athens,  he 
most  disliked  and  distrusted  Alkibiades. 

Just  as  the  fleet  for  Sicily  was  nearly  ready,  all 
the  busts  of  Mercury  which  stood  as  mile-stones  on 
the  roads  in  Attica  were  found  broken  and  defaced  ; 
and  the  enemies  of  Alkibiades  declared  that  it  was 
done  in  one  of  his  drunken  frolics.  Such  a  thing 
done  to  the  figure  of  a  god  was  not  mere  mischief, 
but  sacrilege,  and  there  was  to  be  a  great  inquiry 


The  Expedition  to  Sicily.  209 

into  it.  Alkibiades  wanted  much  to  have  the  trial 
over  before  he  sailed,  that  he  might  clear  himself 
of  the  suspicion ;  and,  indeed,  it  seems  certain  that 
whatever  follies  he  might  commit  when  he  had 
nothing  to  do,  he  had  then  far  too  much  to  think 
of  to  be  likely  to  bring  himself  into  trouble  by  such 
a  wanton  outrage.  But  the  Athenians  chose  to 
put  off  the  inquiry  till  he  was  gone,  and  the  fleet 
set  sail  —  the  largest  that  had  ever  gone  from  the 
Piraeus  —  with  the  sound  of  trumpet,  libations 
poured  into  the  sea  from  gold  and  silver  bowls, 
songs  and  solemn  prayers,  as  the  100  war  galleys 
rowed  out  of  the  harbor  in  one  long  column.  At 
Corcyra  the  fleet  halted  to  meet  their  allies,  who 
raised  the  number  of  ships  to  154,  containing  5000 
heavily-armed  men,  with  whom  they  made  sail  for 
Rhegium,  the  Italian  foreland  nearest  to  Sicily, 
whence  they  sent  to  make  inquiries.  They  found 
more  of  the  Greek  cities  were  against  them  than 
they  had  expected,  and  their  friends  were  weaker. 
Nikias  wanted  merely  to  sail  round  the  island,  and 
sIioav  the  power  of  Athens,  and  then  go  home 
again.  Lamachus,  another  general,  wanted  to 
make  a  bold  attack  on  Syracuse  at  once  ;  and  Al- 
kibiades had  a  middle  plan,  namely,  to  try  to  gain 
the  lesser  towns  by  force  or  friendship,  and  to  stir 


210  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

up  the  native  Sicels  to  revolt.  This  plan  was  ac- 
cepted, and  was  going  on  well  —  for  Alkibiades 
could  always  talk  anyone  over,  especially  strangers, 
to  whom  his  gracefulness  and  brilliancy  were  new 
—  when  orders  came  from  Athens  that  he  and  his 
friends  were  to  be  at  once  sent  home  from  the 
army,  to  answer  for  the  mischief  done  to  the  busts, 
and  for  many  other  crimes  of  sacrilege,  which  were 
supposed  to  be  a  part  of  a  deep  plot  for  upsetting 
the  laws  of  Solon,  and  making  himself  the  tyrant 
of  Athens.        , 

This  was,  of  course,  the  work  of  his  enemies,  and 
the  very  thing  he  had  feared.  His  friends  wrote 
to  him  that  the  people  were  so  furious  against  him 
that  he  had  no  chance  of  a  fair  trial,  and  he  there- 
fore escaped  on  the  way  home,  when,  on  his  failing 
to  arrive,  he  was  solemnly  cursed,  and  condemned 
to  death.  He  took  refuge  in  Sparta,  where,  fine 
gentleman  as  he  was,  he  followed  the  rough,  hardy 
Spartan  manners  to  perfection,  appeared  to  relish 
the  black  broth,  and  spoke  the  Doric  Greek  of  La- 
conia,  as  it  was  said,  more  perfectly  than  the  Spar- 
tans themselves.  Unlike  Aristides,  and  like  the 
worst  sort  of  exiles,  he  tried  to  get  his  revenge  by 
persuading  the  allies  of  Athens  in  Asia  Minor  to 
revolt ;  and  when  the  Spartans  showed  distrust  of 


The  Expedition  to  Sicily.  211 

him,  he  took  refuge  with  the  Persian  satrap  Tissa- 
phernes. 

In  the  meantime,  after  he  had  left  Sicily,  Nikias 
was  so  cautious  that  the  Syracusans  thought  him 
cowardly,  and  provoked  a  battle  with  him  close  to 
their  own  walls.  He  defeated  them,  besieged  their 
city,  and  had  almost  taken  it,  when  a  Spartan  and 
Corinthian  fleet,  headed  by  Gylippus,  came  out, 
forced  their  way  through  the  Athenians,  and 
brought  relief  to  the  city.  More  reinforcements 
came  out  to  Athens,  and  there  was  a  great  sea- 
fight  in  front  of  the  harbor  at  Syracuse,  which 
ended  in  the  total  and  miserable  defeat  of  the 
Athenians,  so  that  the  army  was  obliged  to  retreat 
from  Syracuse,  and  give  up  the  siege.  They  had 
no  food,  nor  any  means  of  getting  home,  and  all 
they  could  do  was  to  make  their  way  back  into  the 
part  of  the  island  that  was  friendly  to  them.  Gy- 
lippus and  the  Syracusans  tried  to  block  their  way, 
but  old  Nikias  showed  himself  firm  and  undaunted 
in  the  face  of  misfortune,  and  they  forced  their 
way  on  for  three  or  four  days,  in  great  suffering 
from  hunger  and  thirst,  till  at  last  they  were  all 
hemmed  into  a  small  hollow  valley,  shut  in  by 
rocks,  where  the  Syracusans  shot  them  down  as 
they  came  to  drink  at  the  stream,  so  thirsty  that 


212  Young  Folks'  History  of  Grreeee. 

they  seemed  not  to  care  much  so  long  as  they  could 
drink.  Upon  this,  Nikias  thought  it  best  to  lay 
down  his  arms  and  surrender.  All  the  remnant  of 
the  army  were  enclosed  in  a  great  quarry  at  Epi- 
polae,  the  sides  of  which  were  100  feet  high,  and 
fed  on  a  scanty  allowance  of  bread  and  water,  while 
the  victors  considered  what  was  to  be  done  with 
them,  for  in  these  heathen  times  there  was  no  law 
of  mercy  for  a  captive,  however  bravely  he  might 
have  fought.  Gylippus  wanted  to  save  Nikias,  for 
the  pleasure  of  showing  off  so  noble  a  prisoner  at 
Sparta  ;  but  some  of  the  Syracusans,  who  had  been 
on  the  point  of  betraying  their  city  to  him,  were 
afraid  that  their  treason  would  be  known,  and 
urged  that  he  should  be  put  to  death  with  his  fel- 
low-general; and  the  brave,  honest,  upright  old 
man  was  therefore  slain  with  his  companion  De- 
mosthenes. 

For  seventy  days  the  rest  remained  in  the  dismal 
quarry,  scorched  by  the  sun,  half-starved  and  rapid- 
ly dying  off,  until  they  were  publicly  sold  as  slaves, 
when  many  of  the  Athenians  gained  the  favor  of 
their  masters  by  entertaining  them  by  repeating  the 
poetry  of  their  tragedians,  especially  of  Euripides, 
whose  works  had  not  yet  been  acted  in  Sicily. 
Some  actually  thus  gained  their  freedom  from  their 


The  Expedition  to  Sicily. 


213 


masters,  and  could  return  to  Athens  to  thank  the 
poet  whose  verses,  stored  in  their  memory,  had 
been  their  ransom. 

All  the  history  of  the  Peloponnesian  war  is  writ- 
ten by  Thukydides,  himself  a  brave  Athenian  sol- 
dier and  statesman,  who  had  a  great  share  in  all 
the  affairs  of  the  time,  and  well  knew  all  the  men 
whom  he  describes. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  SHORE  OF  THE  GOATS  RIVER. 
B.C.  406—402. 

STILL  the  war  went  on,  the  Athenians  holding 
out  steadily,  but  the  Spartans  beginning  to 
care  more  for  leadership  than  for  Greece,  and  so 
making  league  with  the  Persians.  Alkibiades  was 
forgiven  and  called  back  after  a  time,  and  he 
gained  numerous  towns  and  islands  back  again  for 
the  Athenians,  so  that  he  sailed  into  the  Piraeus 
with  a  fleet,  made  up  by  his  own  ships  and  prizes  to 
full  two  hundred  sail,  all  decked  with  purple,  gold, 
and  silver,  and  doubling  what  had  been  lost  in  the 
unhappy  Sicilian  enterprise;  but  his  friends  were 
sorry  that  it  was  what  they  called  an  unlucky  day 
— namely,  that  on  which  every  year  the  statue  of 
Pallas  Athene  was  stripped  of  its  ornaments  to  be 

dusted,   washed,  and  repaired,  and  on   which  her 

214 


The  Shore  of  the    Goat's  River.  215 

worshipers  always  avoided  beginning  anything  or 
doing  any  business. 

A  very  able  man  named  Lysander,  of  the  royal 
line,  though  not  a  king,  had  come  into  command  at 
Sparta,  and  he  had  a  sea-fight  at  Notium,  just 
opposite  to  Ephesus,  with  the  Athenians,  and 
gained  no  very  great  advantage,  but  enough  to 
make  the  discontent  and  distrust  always  felt  for 
Alkibiades  break  out  again,  so  that  he  was  removed 
from  the  command  and .  sailed  away  to  the  Cher- 
sonese, where  in  the  time  of  his  exile  he  had  built 
himself  a  sort  of  little  castle  looking  out  on  the 
strait. 

Konon  was  the  name  of  the  next  commander  of 
the  fleet,  which  consisted  of  110  ships,  with  which 
he  met  the  Spartan  Kallikratidas  with  only  fifty, 
near  the  three  little  islets  called  Arginusse,  near 
Malea.  The  numbers  were  so  unequal  that  the 
Spartan  was  advised  not  to  fight,  but  he  answered 
that  "his  death  would  not  hurt  Sparta,  but  dis- 
honor would  hurt  him."  The  Athenians  gained  a 
complete  victory,  Kallikratidas  was  killed,  and  the 
whole  Spartan  fleet  broken  up ;  but  the  Athenian 
fleet  lost  a  great  many  men  by  a  violent  storm, 
which  hindered  the  vessels  from  coming  to  the  aid 


216  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

of  those  which  had  been  disabled,  and  which  there- 
fore sunk  in  the  tempest. 

The  relations  of  the  men  who  had  been  drowned 
called  for  a  trial  of  the  commanders  for  neglecting 
to  save  the  lives  of  their  fellow-citizens,  and  there 
was  such  a  bad  spirit  of  party  feeling  in  Athens  at 
the  time  that  they  were  actually  condemned  to 
death,  all  except  Konon,  though  happily  they  were 
out  of  reach,  and  their  sentence  could  not  be 
executed.  Lysander  was,  in  the  meantime,  hard  at 
work  to  collect  a  fresh  fleet  from  the  Spartan  allies 
and  to  build  new  ships,  for  which  he  obtained 
money  from  the  Persians  at  Sardis,  where  the 
satrap  at  that  time  was  Cyrus,  the  son  of  Darius, 
the  Great  King,  a  clever  prince,  who  understood 
something  of  Greek  courage,  and  saw  that  the  best 
thing  for  Persia  was  to  keep  the  Greeks  fighting 
with  one  another,  so  that  no  one  state  should  be 
mightiest,  or  able  to  meddle  with  the  Persian 
domains  in  Asia  Minor.  He  gave  Lysander  the 
means  of  adding  to  his  forces,  and  with  his  new 
fleet  he  plundered  the  shores  of  the  islands  of 
Salamis  and  Euboea,  and  even  of  Attica  itself,  to 
insult  the  Athenians.  Their  fleet  came  out  to 
drive  him  off.  It  had  just  been  agreed  by  the 
Athenians  that  every  prisoner  they  might  take  in 


The  Shore  of  the   Goafs  River,  111 

the  fight  they  expected  should  have  his  right 
thumb  cut  off,  to  punish  the  Greeks  who  had  taken 
Persian  gold.  Lysancler  sailed  away,  with  the 
Athenian  fleet  persuing  him  up  to  the  Hellespont, 
where  he  took  the  city  of  Lampsacus  and  plun- 
dered it  before  they  came  up,  and  anchored  at  a 
place  called  JEgos  Potami,  or  the  Goat's  River, 
about  two  miles  from  Sestos.  In  the  morning 
Lysancler  made  all  his  men  eat  their  first  meal  and 
then  go  on  board,  but  gave  orders  that  no  ship 
should  stir  from  its  place.  The  Athenians  too 
embarked,  rowed  up  to  Lampsacus  and  defied 
them ;  but  as  no  Spartan  vessel  moved,  they  went 
back  again  to  their  anchorage,  a  mere  open  shore 
where  there  were  no  houses,  so  that  all  the  crews 
went  off  to  Sestos,  or  in  search  of  villages  inland, 
to  buy  provisions.  The  very  same  thing  happened 
the  next  day.  The  challenge  was  not  accepted  by 
the  Spartans,  and  the  Athenians  thought  them 
afraid,  grew  more  careless,  and  went  further  away 
from  their  ships.  But  on  the  hills  above  stood  the 
little  castle  of  Alkibiades,  who  could  look  down  on 
the  strait,  see  both  fleets,  and  perceive  that  the 
Spartans  sent  swift  galleys  out  each  day  to  steal 
after  the  Athenians,  so  that  they  would  be  quite 
sure  to   take  advantage  of  their  foolish  security. 


218  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece, 

He  could  not  bear  to  see  his  fellow-citizens  ruining 
themselves,  and  came  down  to  warn  them  and  beg 
them  to  move  into  Sestos,  where  they  would  have 
the  harbor  to  shelter  them  and  the  city  behind 
them ;  but  the  generals  scoffed  at  him,  and  bade  him 
remember  that  they  were  commanders  now,  not  he, 
and  he  went  back  to  his  castle,  knowing  only  too 
well  what  would  happen. 

Till  the  fifth  day  all  went  on  as  before,  but  then 
Lysander  ordered  his  watching  galley  to  hoist  a 
shield  as  a  signal  as  soon  as  the  Athenians  had  all 
gone  off  to  roam  the  country  in  search  of  food,  and 
then  he  spread  out  his  fleet  to  its  utmost  width,  and 
came  rowing  out  with  his  180  ships  to  fall  upon  the 
deserted  Athenians.  Not  one  general  was  at  his 
post,  except  Konon,  and  he,  with  the  eight  galleys 
he  could  man  in  haste,  sailed  out  in  all  haste  —  not 
to  fight,  for  that  was  of  no  use,  but  to  escape. 
Almost  every  vessel  was  found  empty  by  the  Spar- 
tans, taken  or  burnt,  and  then  all  the  men  were 
sought  one  by  one  as  they  were  scattered  over  the 
country,  except  a  few  who  were  near  enough  to 
take  refuge  in  the  fort  of  Alkibiades.  Out  of  the 
eight  ships  that  got  away,  one  went  straight  to 
Athens  to  carry  the  dreadful  news;  but  Konon 
took  the  other  seven  with  him  to  the  island  of 


The  /Shore  of  the    Groat's  River.  219 

Cyprus,  thinking  that  thus  he  could  do  better  for 
his  country  than  share  the  ruin  that  now  must 
come  upon  her. 

It  was  night  when  the  solitary  ship  reached  the 
Piraeus  with  the  dreadful  tidings ;  but  they  seemed 
to  rush  through  the  city,  for  everywhere  there 
broke  out  a  sound  of  weeping  and  wailing  for  hus- 
bands, fathers,  brothers,  and  kinsmen  lost,  and  men 
met  together  in  the  market-places  to  mourn  and 
consult  what  could  be  done  next.  None  went  to 
rest  that  night ;  but  the  fleet  was  gone,  and  all 
their  best  men  with  it,  and  Lysander  was  coming 
down  on  Athens,  putting  down  all  her  friends  in 
the  islands  by  the  way,  and  driving  the  Athenian 
garrison  on  before  him  into  Athens.  Before  long 
he  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Piraeus  himself  with  his 
150  galleys,  and  while  he  shut  the  Athenians  in  by 
sea,  the  Spartan  army  and  its  allies  blockaded  them 
by  land. 

If  they  held  out,  there  was  no  hope  of  help ;  dela}~ 
would  only  make  the  conquerors  more  bitter;  so 
they  offered  to  make  terms,  and  very  hard  these 
were.  The  Athenians  were  to  pull  down  a  mile  on 
each  side  of  the  Long  Walls,  give  up  all  their  ships 
except  twelve,  recall  all  their  banished  men,  and 
follow  the  fortunes  of  the   Spartans.     They  were 


220  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

very  unwilling  to  accept  these  conditions,  but 
their  distress  compelled  them;  and  Lysander  had 
the  Long  Walls  pulled  down  to  the  sound  of  music 
on  the  anniversary  of  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Sala- 
mis.  Then  he  overthrew  the  old  constitution  of 
Solon,  and  set  up  a  government  of  thirty  men,  who 
were  to  keep  the  Athenians  under  the  Spartan 
yoke,  and  who  were  so  cruel  and  oppressive  that 
they  were  known  afterwards  as  the  thirty  tyrants. 
So  in  404  ended  the  Peloponnesian  war,  after 
lasting  twenty-seven  years. 

The  Athenians  were  most  miserable,  and  began 
to  think  whether  Alkibiades  would  deliver  them, 
and  the  Spartans  seem  to  have  feared  the  same. 
He  did  not  think  himself  safe  in  Europe  after  the 
ruin  at  JEgos  Potami,  and  had  gone  to  the  Persian 
governor  on  the  Phrygian  coast,  who  received  him 
kindly,  but  was  believed  to  have  taken  the  pay  of 
either  the  Spartans  or  the  thirty  tyrants,  to  murder 
him,  for  one  night  the  house  where  he  was  sleeping 
was  set  on  fire,  and  on  waking  he  found  it  sur- 
rounded with  enemies.  He  wrapped  his  garment 
round  his  left  arm,  took  his  sword  in  his  hand,  and 
broke  through  the  flame.  None  of  the  murderers 
durst  come  near  him,  but  they  threw  darts  and 
stones  at  him  so  thickly  that  at  last  he  fell,  and 


The  Shore  of  the    Goat's  River.  221 

the}'  despatched  him.  Timandra,  the  last  of  Ms 
wives,  took  up  his  body,  wrapped  it  in  her  own 
mantle,  and  buried  it  in  a  city  called  Melissa. 
Such  was  the  sad  end  of  the  spoilt  child  of  Athens. 
He  left  a  son  at  Athens,  whom  the  Thirty  tried  to 
destroy,  but  who  escaped  their  fury,  although 
during  these  evil  times  the  Thirty  actually  put  to 
death  no  less  than  fourteen  hundred  citizens  of 
Athens,  many  of  them  without  any  proper  trial, 
and  drove  five  thousand  more  into  banishment 
during  the  eight  months  that  their  power  lasted. 
Then  Thrasybulus  and  other  exiles,  coming  home, 
helped  to  shake  off  their  yoke  and  establish  the  old 
democracy;  but  even  then  Athens  was  in  a  weak, 
wretched  state,  and  Sparta  had  all  the  power. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

THE  RETREAT  OF  THE  TEN  THOUSAND. 
B.C.  402  —  399. 

JUST  as  Greece  was  quieted  by  the  end  of  the 
Peloponnesian  war,  the  old  King  of  Persia, 
Darius  Nothus,  died  and  his  eldest  son,  Artaxerxes 
Mnemon,  came  to  the  throne.  He  was  the  eldest, 
but  his  brother  Cyrus,  who  had  been  born  after  his 
father  began  to  reign,  declared  that  this  gave  the 
best  right,  and  resolved  to  march  from  Sardis  into 
Persia  to  gain  the  kingdom  for  himself  by  the  help 
of  a  hired  body  of  Greek  soldiers.  Clearchus,  a 
banished  Spartan,  undertook  to  get  them  together, 
and  he  made  such  descriptions  of  the  wealth  they 
would  get  in  the  East,  that  11,000  of  the  bravest 
men  in  Greece  came  together  for  the  purpose,  and 
among  them  Xenophon,  the  pupil  of  Socrates,  who 
has  written  the  history  of  the  expedition,  as  well  as 

222 


The  Retreat  of  the   Ten  Thousand.        223 

that  of  the  later  years  of  the  Pcloponnesian  war. 
Xenophon  was  a  horseman,  but  most  of  the  troops 
were  foot  soldiers,  and  they  were  joined  by  a  great 
body  of  Asiatics,  raised  by  Cyrus  himself.  They 
were  marched  across  Syria,  crossed  the  present 
river  Euphrates  at  the  ford  Thapsacus,  and  at 
Cunaxa,  seven  miles  from  Babylon,  they  met  the 
enormous  army  which  Artaxerxes  had  raised.  The 
Greeks  beat  all  who  met  them ;  but  in  the  mean- 
time Cyrus  was  killed,  and  his  whole  army  broke 
up  and  fled,  so  that  the  Greeks  were  left  to  them- 
selves in  the  very  heart  of  the  enemy's  country, 
without  provisions,  money,  cr  guides. 

Artaxerxes  sent  messages  pretending  to  wish  to 
make  terms  with  them  and  guide  them  safely  back 
to  their  own  country,  provided  they  would  do  no 
harm  on  the  way,  and  they  willingly  agreed  to 
this,  and  let  themselves  be  led  where  they  were 
told  it  would  be  easier  to  find  food  for  them ;  but 
this  was  across  the  great  river  Tigris,  over  a  bridge 
of  boats ;  and  a  few  days  after,  Clearchus  and  the 
other  chief  officers  were  invited  to  the  Persian 
camp  to  meet  the  king,  and  there  seized  and  made 
prisoners.  A  message  came  directly  after  to  the 
Greeks  to  bid  them  deliver  up  their  arms,  as  they 


224  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

belonged  to  the  Great  King,  having  once  belonged 
to  his  slave  Cyrus. 

To  deliver  up  their  arms  was  the  last  thing  they 
intended;  but  their  plight  was  dreadful  —  left 
alone  eight  months'  march  by  the  shortest  way 
from  home,  with  two  great  rivers  and  broad  tracts 
of  desert  between  it  and  themselves,  and  many 
nations,  all  hating  them,  in  the  *  inhabited  land, 
with  no  guides,  no  generals,  and  ten  times  their 
number  of  Persian  troops  waiting  to  fall  on  them. 
All  were  in  dismay ;  hardly  a  fire  was  lighted  to 
cook  their  supper ;  each  man  lay  down  to  rest  where 
he  was,  yet  hardly  anyone  could  sleep  for  fear  and 
anxiety,  looking  for  shame,  death,  or  slavery,  and 
never  expecting  to  see  Greece,  wife,  or  children 
again. 

But  that  night  Xenophon  made  up  his  mind  to 
do  what  he  could  to  save  his  countrymen.  The  only 
hope  was  in  some  one  taking  the  lead,  and,  as  the 
Greeks  had  been  true  to  their  oaths  throughout 
the  whole  march,  he  believed  the  gods  would  help 
them.  So  he  called  the  chief  of  the  officers  still  re- 
maining together,  and  put  them  in  mind  that  they 
might  still  hope.  They  were  so  much  stronger  and 
braver  than  the  Persians,  that  if  only  they  did  not 
lose  heart  and  separate,  they  could  beat  off  almost 


The  Retreat  of  the   Ten  Thousand.        227 

any  attack.  As  to  provisions,  they  would  seize 
them,  and  the  rivers  which  they  conld  not  cross 
should  be  their  guides,  for  they  would  track  them 
up  into  the  hills,  where  they  would  become  shallow. 
Only  every  soldier  must  swear  to  assist  in  keeping 
up  obedience,  and  then  they  would  show  Arta- 
xerxes  that,  though  he  had  seized  Clearchus,  they 
had  ten  thousand  as  good  as  he.  The  army 
listened,  recovered  hope  and  spirit,  swore  to  all  he 
asked,  and  one  of  the  most  wonderful  marches  in 
the  world  began.  Cheirisophus,  the  eldest  officer, 
a  Spartan,  took  the  command  in  the  centre; 
Xenophon,  as  one  of  the  youngest  was  in  the  rear. 
They  crossed  the  Zab,  their  first  barrier,  and  then 
went  upwards  along  the  banks  of  the  Tigris.  The 
Persians  hovered  about  them,  and  always  attacked 
them  every  morning.  Then  the  Greeks  halted 
under  any  shelter  near  at  hand,  and  fought  them 
till  towards  evening.  They  were  sure  to  fall  back, 
as  they  were  afraid  to  sleep  near  the  Greeks,  for 
fear  of  a  night  attack.  Then  the  Greeks  marched 
on  for  a  good  distance  before  halting  to  sup  and 
sleep,  and  were  able  again  to  make  a  little  way  in 
the  morning  before  the  enemy  attacked  them 
again. 

So  they  went  on  till  they  came  to  the  mountains, 


228  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

where  dwelt  wild  tribes  whom  the  Great  King 
called  his  subjects,  but  who  did  not  obey  him  at  all. 
However,  they  were  robbers  and  very  fierce,  and 
stood  on  the  steep  heights  shooting  arrows  and 
rolling  down  stones,  so  that  the  passage  through 
their  land  cost  the  Greeks  more  men  than  all  their 
march  through  Persia.  On  they  went,  through 
Armenia  and  over  the  mountains,  generally  having 
to  make  their  way  through  snow  and  ice,  until  at 
last,  when  they  were  climbing  up  Mount  Theche, 
those  behind  heard  a  shout  of  joy,  and  the  cry. 
"  The  sea,  the  sea ! "  rang  from  rank  to  rank. 
To  every  Greek  the  sea  was  like  home,  and  it 
seemed  to  them  as  if  their  troubles  were  over. 
They  wept  and  embraced  one  another,  and  built  up 
a  pile  of  stones  with  a  trophy  of  arms  on  the  top, 
offering  sacrifice  to  the  gods  for  having  so  far 
brought  them  safely. 

It  was,  however,  only  the  Black  Sea,  the  Pontus 
Euxinus,  and  far  to  the  eastward ;  and,  though  the 
worst  was  over,  they  had  still  much  to  undergo 
while  they  were  skirting  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor. 
When  they  came  to  the  first  Greek  colony  — 
namely,  Trapezus  or  Trebizond  —  they  had  been  a 
full  year  marching  through  an  enemy's  country  ; 
and  yet   out  of  the   11,000   who   had   fought  at 


The  Retreat  of  the   Ten   Thousand.        229 

Cunaxa  there  were  still  10,000  men  safe  and  well, 
and  they  had  saved  all  the  women,  slaves,  and 
baggage  they  had  taken  with  them.  Moreover, 
though  they  came  from  many  cities,  and  both 
Spartans  and  Athenians  were  among  them,  there 
never  had  been  any  quarreling ;  and  the  only  time 
when  there  had  been  the  least  dispute  had  been 
when  Xenophon  thought  Cheirisophus  a  little  too 
hasty  in  suspecting  a  native  guide. 

Tired  out  as  the  soldiers  were,  they  wanted,  as 
soon  as  they  reached  the  vEgean  Sea,  to  take  ship 
and  sail  home  ;  but  they  had  no  money,  and  the 
merchant  ships  would  not  give  them  a  free  passage, 
even  if  there  had  been  ships  enough,  and  Cheiriso- 
phus went  to  Byzantium  to  try  to  obtain  some, 
while  the  others  marched  to  wait  for  him  at  Cera- 
sus,  the  place  whence  were  brought  the  first  cherries, 
which  take  their  name  from  it.  He  failed,  how- 
ever, in  getting  any,  and  the  Greeks  had  to  make 
their  way  on  ;  but  they  had  much  fallen  away  from 
the  noble  spirit  they  had  shown  at  first.  Any 
country  that  did  not  belong  to  Greeks  they  plun- 
dered, and  they  were  growing  careless  as  to  whether 
the  places  in  their  way  were  Greek  or  not.  Cheir- 
isophus died  of  a  fever,  and  Xenophon,  though 
grieved  at  the  change   in  the  spirit  of  the  army, 


230  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

continued  for  very  pity  in  command.  They  hired 
themselves  out  to  fight  the  battle  of  a  Thracian 
prince,  but,  when  his  need  of  them  was  over,  he 
dismissed  them  without  any  pay  at  all,  and  Xeno- 
phon  was  so  poor  that  he  was  forced  to  sell  the 
good  horse  that  had  carried  him  all  the  way  from 
Armenia. 

However,  there  was  a  spirited  young  king  at 
Sparta,  named  Agesilaus,  who  was  just  old  enough 
to  come  forward  and  take  the  command,  and  he 
was  persuading  his  fellow-citizens,  that  now  they 
had  become  the  leading  state  in  Greece,  they  ought 
to  go  and  deliver  therL'emaining  Greek  colonies  in 
Asia  Minor  from  the  yoke  of  Persia,  as  Athens  had 
done  by  the  Ionians.  They  therefore  decided  on 
taking  the  remains  of  the  10,000  —  now  only  6000 
—  into  their  pay,  and  the  messengers  who  came  to 
engage  them  bought  Xenophon's  horse  and  restored 
it  to  him.  Xenophon  would  not,  however,  con- 
tinue with  the  band  after  he  had  conducted  it  to 
Pergamus,  where  they  were  to  meet  the  Spartan 
general  who  was  to  take  charge  of  them.  On  their 
way  they  plundered  the  house  of  a  rich  Persian, 
and  gave  a  large  share  of  the  spoil  to  him  as  a  token 
of  gratitude  for  the  wisdom  and  constancy  that 
had  carried  them  through  so  many  trials. 


The  Retreat  of  the   Ten   Thousand.        231 

It  had  been  his  strong  sense  of  religion  and  trust 
in  the  care  of  the  gods  which  had  borne  him  up ; 
and  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to  go  and  dedicate 
his  armor  and  an  offering  of  silver  at  the  temple  of 
Diana  at  Ephesus.  This  temple  had  grown  up 
round  a  black  stone  image,  very  ugly,  but  which 
was  said  to  have  fallen  from  the  sky,  and  was  per- 
haps a  meteoric  stone.  A  white  marble  quarry 
near  the  city  had  furnished  the  materials  for  a  tem- 
ple so  grand  and  beautiful  that  it  was  esteemed  one 
of  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world. 

After  thus  paying  his  vows,  Xenophon  returned 
to  Athens,  whence  he  had  been  absent  two  years 
and  a-half.  He  not  only  wrote  the  history  of  this 
expedition,  but  a  life  of  the  first  great  Cyrus  of 
Persia,  which  was  meant  not  so  much  as  real  his- 
tory, as  a  pattern  of  how  kings  ought  to  be  bred 
up. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

THE    DEATH   OF    SOCRATES. 
B.C.  899. 

OF  the  men  who  sought  after  God  in  the 
darkness,  "if  haply  they  might  feel  after 
Him,"  none  had  come  so  near  the  truth  as  Socrates, 
a  sculptor  by  trade,  and  jet  a  great  philosopher, 
and,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  the  wisest  and  best  man 
who  ever  grew  up  without  any  guide  but  nature 
and  conscience.  Even  the  oracle  at  Delphi  de- 
clared that  he  was  the  wisest  of  men,  because  he 
did  not  fancy  he  knew  what  he  did  not  know,  and 
did  not  profess  to  have  any  wisdom  of  his  own.  It 
was  quite  true  —  all  his  thinking  had  only  made 
him  quite  sure  that  he  knew  nothing ;  but  lie  was 
also  sure  that  he  had  an  inward  voice  within  him, 
telling  him  which  was  the  way  in  which  he  should 
walk.     He  did  not  think  much  about  the  wild  tales 


The  Death  of  Socrates. 


233 


of  the  Greek  gods  and  goddesses  ;  he  seems  to  have 
considered  them  as  fancies  that  had  grown  up  on 
some  forgotten  truth,  and  he  said  a  healthy  mind 
would  not  dwell  upon  them  ;  but  he  was  quite  sure 
that  above  all  these  there  was  one  really  true  Most 
High  God,  who  governed  the  world,  rewarded  the 
good,  and  punished  the  bad,  and  sent  him  the  in- 
ward voice,  which  he  tried  to  obey  to  the  utmost 
of  his  power,  and  by  so  doing 
no  doubt  his  inward  sight 
grew  clearer  and  clearer. 
Even  in  his  home  his  gentle- 
ness and  patience  were  noted, 
so  that  when  his  scolding 
wife  Xantippe,  after  railing 
at  him  sharply,  threw  some 
water  at  his  head,  he  only 
smiled,  and  said,  "After 
thunder  follows  rain."  He 
did  not  open  a  school  under  a  portico,  but,  as  he 
did  his  work,  all  the  choicest  spirits  of  Greece  re- 
sorted to  him  to  argue  out  these  questions  in  search 
of  truth;  and  many  accounts  of  these  conversa- 
tions have  been  preserved  to  us  by  his  two  best 
pupils,  Plato  and  Xenophon. 

But  in  the  latter  days  of  the  Peloponnesian  war, 


SOCRATES. 


234  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

when  the  Athenians  were  full  of  bitterness,  and  had 
no  great  deeds  to  undertake  outside  their  city,  a  set 
of  arguing  pretenders  to  philosophy  arose,  who  were 
called  the  Sophists,  and  who  cpent  their  time  in 
mere  empty  talk,  often  against  the  gods ;  and  the 
great  Socrates  was  mixed  up  in  people's  fancy  with 
them.  A  comic  writer  arose,  named  Aristophanes, 
who,  seeing  the  Athenians  fallen  from  the  great- 
ness of  their  fathers,  tried  to  laugh  them  into  shame 
at  themselves.  He  particularly  disliked  Euripides, 
because  his  tragedies  seemed,  like  the  Sophists,  not 
to  respect  the  gods ;  and  he  also  more  justly  hated 
Alkibiades  for  his  overbearing  ways,  and  his  want 
of  real  respect  for  gods  or  men.  It  was  very  hard 
on  Socrates  that  the  faults  of  his  pupils  should  be 
charged  against  him  ;  but  Aristophanes  had  set  all 
Athens  laughing  by  a  comedy  called  "The  Clouds," 
in  which  a  good-for-nothing  young  man,  evidently 
meant  for  Alkibiades,  gets  his  father  into  debt  by 
buying  horses,  and,  under  the  teaching  of  Socrates, 
learns  both  to  cheat  his  creditors  and  to  treat  re- 
spect for  his  father  as  a  worn-out  notion.  The 
beauty  and  the  lisp  of  Alkibiades  were  imitated  so 
as  to  make  it  quite  plain  who  was  meant  by  the 
youth ;  and  Socrates  himself  was  evidently  repre- 
sented   by    an  actor   in    a    hideous    comic   mask, 


The  Death  of  Socrates.  235 

caricaturing  the  philosopher's  snub  nose  and  ugly 
features.  The  play  ended  by  a  young  man's  father 
threatening  to  burn  down  the  house  of  Socrates, 
with  him  in  it.  This  had  been  written  twenty 
years  before,  but  it  had  been  acted  and  admired 
again  and  again,  together  with  the  other  comedies 
of  Aristophanes  —  one  about  a  colony  of  birds  who 
try  to  build  a  city  in  the  air,  and  of  whom  the 
chorus  was  composed ;  and  another,  called  "  The 
Frogs,"  still  more  droll,  and  all  full  of  attacks  on 
the  Sophists. 

Thus  the  Athenians  had  a  general  notion  that 
Socrates  was  a  corrupter  of  youth  and  a  despiser  of 
the  gods,  for  in  truth  some  forms  of  worship,  like 
the  orgies  of  Bacchus,  and  other  still  worse  rites 
which  had  been  brought  in  from  the  East,  were 
such  that  no  good  man  could  approve  them.  One 
of  the  thirty  tyrants  had  at  one  time  been  a  pupil 
of  his,  and  this  added  to  the  ill-feeling  against  him  ; 
and  while  Xenophon  was  still  away  in  Asia,  in  the 
year  399,  the  philosopher  was  brought  to  trial  on 
three  points,  namely,  that  he  did  not  believe  in  the 
gods  of  Athens,  that  he  brought  in  new  gods,  and 
that  he  misled  young  men  ;  and  for  this  his  accus- 
ers demanded  that  he  should  be  put  to  death. 

Socrates  pleaded  his  own  cause  before  the  coun- 


236  Young  Folks'  History  of  G-reece. 

oil  of  the  Areopagus.  He  flatly  denied  unbelief  in 
the  gods  of  his  fathers,  but  he  defended  his  belief 
in  his  genius  or  indwelling  voice,  and  said  that  in 
this  he  was  only  like  those  who  drew  auguries  from 
the  notes  of  birds,  thunder,  and  the  like  ;  and  as 
for  his  guidance  of  young  men,  he  called  on  his  ac- 
cusers to  show  whether  he  had  ever  led  any  man 
from  virtue  to  vice.  One  of  them  answered  that  he 
knew  those  who  obeyed  and  followed  Socrates  more 
than  their  own  parents ;  to  which  he  replied  that 
such  things  sometimes  happened  in  other  matters 
—  men  consulted  physicians  about  their  health 
rather  than  their  fathers,  and  obeyed  their  generals 
in  war,  not  their  fathers  ;  and  so  in  learning,  they 
might  follow  him  rather  than  their  fathers.  "  Be- 
cause I  am  thought  to  have  some  power  of  teaching 
youth,  O  my  judges  !  "  he  ended,  "  is  that  a  reason 
why  I  should  suffer  death  ?  My  accusers  may  pro- 
cure that  judgment,  but  hurt  me  they  cannot.  To 
fear  death  is  to  seem  wise  without  being  so,  for  it 
is  pretending  to  understand  what  we  know  not. 
No  man  knows  what  death  is,  or  whether  it  be  not 
our  greatest  happiness  ;  yet  all  fear  and  shun  it." 

His  pupil  Plato  stood  up  on  the  platform  to  de- 
fend him,  and  began,  "  O  ye  Athenians,  I  am  the 
youngest  man  who  ever  went  up  in  this  place " 


The  Death  of  Socrates. 


237 


"No,  no,"  they  cried,  with  one  voice;  "the 
youngest  who  ever  went  down  !  "  They  would 
not  hear  a  word  from  him;  and  380  voices  sen- 
tenced the  great  philosopher  to  die,  after  the  Athe- 
nian fashion,  by  being  poisoned  with  hemlock.  He 
disdained  to  plead  for  a  lessening  of  the  penalty ; 
but  it  could  not  be  carried  out  at  once,  because  a 
ship  had  just  been  sent  to  Delos 
with  offerings,  and  for  the  thirty 
days  while  this  was  gone  no  one 
could  be  put  to  death.  Socrates 
therefore  was  put  in  prison,  with 
chains  upon  his  ankles  ;  but  all 
his  friends  were  able  to  come 
and  visit  him,  and  one  of  them, 
named  Krito,  hoped  to  have 
contrived  his  escape  by  bribing 
the  jailer,  but  he  refused  to 
make  anyone  guilty  of  a  breach  of  the  laws  for  the 
sake  of  a  life  which  must  be  near  its  close,  for  he 
was  not  far  from  seventy  years  old  ;  and  when  one 
of  his  friends  began  to  weep  at  the  thought  of  his 
dying  innocent,  "  What !  "  he  said,  M  would  you 
think  it  better  for  me  to  die  guilty  ?  " 

When  the  ship  had  come  back,  and  the  time  was 
come,  he  called  all  his  friends  together  for  a  cheer- 


238  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

ful  feast,  during  which  he  discoursed  to  them  as 
usual.  All  the  words  that  fell  from  him  were  care- 
fully stored  up,  and  recorded  by  Plato  in  a  dialogue, 
which  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  things  that  have 
come  down  to  us  from  Greek  times.  It  was  not 
Socrates,  said  the  philosopher,  whom  they  would 
lay  in  the  grave.  Socrates'  better  part,  and  true 
self,  would  be  elsewhere ;  and  all  of  them  felt  sure 
that  in  that  unknown  world,  as  they  told  him,  it 
must  fare  well  with  one  like  him.  He  begged  them, 
for  their  own  sakes,  never  to  forget  the  lessons  he 
had  taught  them  ;  and  when  the  time  had  come,  he 
drank  the  hemlock  as  if  it  had  been  a  cup  wine  : 
he  then  walked  up  and  down  the  room  for  a  little 
while,  bade  his  pupils  remember  that  this  was  the 
real  deliverance  from  all  disease  and  impurity,  and 
then,  as  the  fatal  sleep  benumbed  him,  he  lay 
down,  bidding  Krito  not  forget  a  vow  he  had  made 
to  one  of  the  gods;  and  so  he  slept  into  death. 
'■Thus,"  said  Plato,  "died  the  man  who,  of  all 
with  whom  we  were  acquainted,  was  in  death  the 
noblest,  in  life  the  wisest  and  best." 

Plato  himself  carried  on  much  of  the  teaching 
of  his  master,  and  became  the  founder  of  a  sect  of 
philosophy  which  taught  that,  come  what  may,  vir- 
tue is  that  which  should,  above  all,  be  sought  for 


THE  DEATH    OF   SOCRATES. 


The  Death  of  Socrates.  241 

as  making  man  noblest,  and  that  no  pain,  loss  or 
grief  should  be  shunned  for  virtue's  sake.  His  fol- 
lowers were  called  Stoics,  from  their  fashion  of 
teaching  in  the  porticos  or  porches,  which  in  Greek 
were  named  stoai.  Their  great  opponents  were  the 
Epicureans,  or  followers  of  a  philosopher  by  name 
Epicurus,  who  held  that  as  man's  life  is  short,  and 
as  he  knew  not  whence  he  came,  nor  whither  he 
went,  he  had  better  make  himself  as  happy  as  pos- 
sible, and  care  for  nothing  else.  Epicurus,  indeed, 
declared  that  only  virtue  did  make  men  happy  ; 
but  there  was  nothing  in  his  teaching  to  make 
them  do  anything  but  what  pleased  themselves,  so 
his  philosophy  did  harm,  while  that  of  the  Stoics 
did  good.  A  few  Pythagoreans,  who  believed  in 
the  harmony  of  the  universe,  still  remained  ;  but  so 
long  as  the  world  remained  in  darkness,  thinking 
men  were  generally  either  Stoics  or  Epicureans. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

THE   SUPREMACY   OF   SPARTA. 
B.C.  396. 

THE  ablest  man  just  at  this  time  in  Greece  was 
Agesilaus,  one  of  the  kings  of  Sparta.  He 
was  small,  weakly,  and  lame,  but  full  of  courage, 
and  an  excellent  general;  and  though  he  was  as 
plain  and  hardy  as  suited  with  Spartan  discipline, 
he  had  a  warm,  kind,  tender  heart,  and  was  not 
ashamed  to  show  it,  as  some  of  the  Spartans  were. 
So  that,  when  some  ambassadors  came  to  see  him, 
they  found  him  riding  on  a  stick  to  please  his 
children ;  and  again,  when  a  trial  of  a  distinguished 
man  was  going  on  in  his  absence,  he  wrote,  "  If  he 
be  not  guilty,  spare  him  for  his  own  sake ;  if  he  be 
guilty,  spare  him  for  mine." 

He  was  young,  and  full  of  fire  and  spirit,  when 
the  Spartans  resolved  to  try  to  free   the   Greek 

242 


The    Supremacy  of  Sparta.  243 

colonies  in  Asia  Minor  from  the  Persians,  by  an 
army  under  his  command.  Xenophon  had  been  so 
much  grieved  by  his  master  Socrates'  death  that  he 
would  not  remain  at  Athens,  but  joined  his  old 
friends  once  more,  and  was  a  great  friend  of  Agesi- 
laus.  The  Athenians,  Corinthians,  and  Thebans 
were  all  asked  to  send  troops,  but  they  refused,  and 
Agesilaus  set  sail  with  8000  men,  meaning  to  meet 
and  take  with  him  the  remains  of  the  10,000,  who 
were  well  used  to  warfare  with  the  Persians.  He 
was  the  first  Greek  king  who  had  sailed  to  Asia 
since  the  Trojan  war,  and,  in  imitation  of  Agamem- 
non, he  stopped  at  Aulis,  in  Boeotia,  to  offer  sacri- 
fice to  Diana.  He  dreamt  that  a  message  came 
that  it  ought  to  be  the  same  sacrifice  as  Agamem- 
non had  made,  but  he  declared  that  he  would  not 
act  so  cruelly  towards  his  own  child,  and  caused  a 
white  hind  to  be  crowned,  and  offered  as  the  god- 
dess' chosen  offering  ;  but  as  this  was  not  the 
usual  sacrifice,  the  Thebans  were  affronted,  and 
threw  away  the  sacrifice  as  it  lay  on  the  altar. 
This  was  reckoned  as  a  bad  omen,  and  Agesilaus 
went  on  his  way,  doubting  whether  he  should  meet 
with  success. 

He  was  a  man  who  went' very  much  by  omens, 
for  after  he  had  landed,  had  gained  several  sue- 


244  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

cesses,  and  was  just  advancing  in  Caria,  at  the  sa- 
crifice lie  found  the  liver  of  one  of  the  victims  im- 
perfect, and  this  decided  him  on  going  back  to 
Ephesus  for  the  winter,  to  collect  more  horse. 
When  he  marched  on  in  the  spring  he  was  much 
stronger ;  he  advanced  into  the  Persian  territories, 
and  defeated  the  Persians  and  their  allies  wherever 
he  met  them,  and  at  last  the  satrap  Pharnabazus 
begged  to  have  a  conference  with  him,  being  much 
struck  with  his  valor. 

Agesilaus  came  first  to  the  place  of  meeting,  and 
having  to  wait  there,  sat  down  on  the  grass  under 
a  tree,  and  began  to  eat  his  homely  meal  of  bread 
and  an  onion.  Presently  up  came  the  satrap  in  all 
his  splendor,  with  attendants  carrying  an  umbrella 
over  his  head,  and  others  bearing  rich  carpets  and 
costly  furs  for  him  to  sit  on,  silver  and  gold  plate, 
and  rich  food  and  wines.  But  when  he  found  that 
the  little,  shabby,  plain  man  under  the  tree  was 
really  the  mighty  king  of  Sparta,  the  descendant  of 
Hercules,  Pharnabazus  was  ashamed  of  all  his 
pomp,  and  went  down  upon  the  ground  by  Agesi- 
laus' side,  to  the  great  damage,  as  the  Greeks 
delighted  to  observe,  of  his  fine,  delicately-tinted 
robes.  He  told  Agesilaus  that  he  thought  this 
attack  a   bad   reward   for   all   the   help   that   the 


The  Supremacy  of  Sparta.  245 

Spartans  had  had  from  Persia  in  the  Pelopormesian 
war ;  but  Agesilaus  said  that  they  had  been  friends 
then,  but  that  as  cause  of  war  had  arisen  it  was 
needful  to  fight,  though  he  was  so  far  from  feeling 
enmity  that  Pharnabazus  should  find  the  Greeks 
willing  to  welcome  him,  and  give  him  high  com- 
mand, if  he  would  come  and  be  a  free  man  among 
them.  Pharnabazus  answered  that  as  long  as  he 
held  command  in  the  name  of  the  Great  King  he 
must  be  at  war  with  the  foes  of  Persia,  but  if 
Artaxerxes  should  take  away  Iris  satrapy  he  would 
come  over  to  the  Spartans.  Therewith  Agesilaus 
shook  hands  with  hini,  and  said,  "  How  much  rather 
I  would  have  so  gallant  a  man  for  my  friend  than 
my  enemy?"  The  young  son  of  the  satrap  was 
even  more  taken  with  the  Spartan,  and,  waiting 
behind  his  father,  ran  up  to  the  king,  and,  accord- 
ing to  the  Persian  offer  of  friendship,  said,  "I 
make  you  my  guest,"  at  the  same  time  giving  him 
a  javelin.  Agesilaus  looked  about  for  anything 
fine  enough  to  offer  the  young  Persian  in  return, 
and  seeing  that  a  youth  in  his  train  had  a  horse 
with  handsome  trappings,  asked  for  them,  and  made 
a  gift  of  them  to  his  new  friend.  The  friendship 
stood  the  youth  in  good  stead,  for  when  he  was 
afterwards   driven  from   home    by   his    brethren, 


246  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

Agesilaus  welcomed  him  in  Laconia,  and  was  very 
kind  to  him.  The  war,  however,  still  continued, 
and  Agesilaus  gained  such  successes  that  the  Per- 
sians saw  their  best  hope  lay  in  getting  him  recalled 
to  Greece ;  so  they  sent  money  in  secret  to  the 
Athenians  and  their  old  allies  to  incite  them  to 
revolt,  and  so  strong  an  army  was  brought  together 
that  the  Spartans  sent  in  haste  to  recall  Agesilaus. 
The  summons  came  just  as  he  was  mustering  all 
the  Greek  warriors  in  Asia  Minor  for  an  advance 
into  the  heart  of  the  empire,  and  he  was  much 
disappointed ;  but  he  laughed,  and,  as  Persian  coins 
were  stamped  with  the  figure  of  a  horseman  draw- 
ing the  bow,  he  said  he  had  been  defeated  by 
10,000  Persian  archers. 

He  marched  home  by  the  way  of  the  Hellespont, 
but  before  he  was  past  Thrace  a  great  battle  had 
been  fought  close  to  Corinth,  in  which  the 
Spartans  had  been  victorious  and  made  a  great 
slaughter  of  the  allies.  But  he  only  thought  of 
them  as  Greeks,  not  as  enemies,  and  exclaimed. 
"  O  Greece,  how  many  brave  men  hast  thou  lost, 
who  might  have  conquered  all  Persia!"  The 
Thebans  had  joined  the  allies  against  Sparta,  and 
the  Ephors  sent  orders  to  Agesilaus  to  punish  them 
on  his  way  southwards.     This  he  did  in   the  battle 


The  Supremacy  of  Sparta.  247 

of  Coronea,  in  which  he  was  very  badly  wounded, 
but,  after  the  victory  was  over,  he  would  not  be 
taken  to  his  tent  till  he  had  been  carried  round  the 
field  to  see  that  every  slain  Spartan  was  carried 
away  in  his  armor  and  not  left  to  the  plunderers. 

He  then  returned  to  Sparta,  where  the  citizens 
were  delighted  to  see  that  he  had  not  been  spoiled 
by  Persian  luxury,  but  lived  as  plainly  as  ever,  and 
would  not  let  his  family  dress  differently  from 
others.  He  knew  what  greatness  was  so  well,  that 
when  he  heard  Artaxerxes  called  the  Great  King, 
he  said,  "  How  is  he  greater  than  I,  unless  he  be 
the  juster  ?  n 

It  should  be  remembered  that  Konon,  that  Athe- 
nian captain  who  had  escaped  from  ^Egos  Potami 
with  six  ships,  had  gone  to  the  island  of  Cyprus. 
He  persuaded  the  people  of  the  island  of  Rhodes  to 
revolt  from  the  Spartans,  and  make  friends  with 
the  Persians.  It  is  even  said  that  he  went  to  the 
court  of  Artaxerxes,  and  obtained  leave  from  him 
to  raise  ships,  with  which  to  attack  the  Spartans, 
from  the  colonies  which  were  friendly  to  Athens, 
yet  belonged  to  the  Greek  Empire.  Pharnabazus 
joined  him,  and,  with  eighty-five  ships,  they  cruised 
about  in  the  JEgean  Sea,  and  near  Cnidus  they 
entirely  defeated  the  Spartan  fleet.     It  was  com- 


248  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

manded  by  Pisander,  Agesilaus'  brother-in-law, 
who  held  by  his  ship  to  the  last,  and  died  like  a 
true  Spartan,  sword  in  hand. 

After  this  Konon  drove  out  many  Spartan  gover- 
nors from  the  islands  of  the  ^Egean,  and,  sailing  to 
Corinth,  encouraged  the  citizens  to  hold  out  against 
Sparta,  after  which  Pharnabazus  went  home,  but 
Konon  returned  with  the  fleet  to  the  Piraeus,  and 
brought  money  and  aid  to  build  up  the  Long  Walls 
again,  after  they  had  been  ten  years  in  ruins.  The 
crews  of  the  ships  and  the  citizens  of  Athens  all 
worked  hard,  the  rejoicing  was  immense,  and 
Konon  was  looked  on  as  the  great  hero  and  bene- 
factor of  Athens  ;  but,  as  usual,  before  long  the 
Athenians  grew  jealous  of  him  and  drove  him  out, 
so  that  he  ended  his  life  an  exile,  most  likely  in 
Cyprus. 

It  was  no  wonder  that  Xenophon's  heart  turned 
against  the  city  that  thus  treated  her  great  men, 
though  he  ought  not  to  have  actually  fought 
against  her,  as  he  did  under  Agesilaus,  whom  he 
greatly  loved.  The  chief  scene  of  the  war  was 
round  Corinth ;  but  at  last  both  parties  were 
wearied,  and  a  peace  Avas  made  between  Athens 
and  Sparta  and  the  Persian  Empire.  Artaxerxes 
kept  all  the  Greek  cities  in  Asia  and  the  islands  of 


The  Supremacy  of  Sparta,  249 

Cyprus  and  Clazomene,  and  all  the  other  isles  and 
colonies  were  declared  free  from  the  power  of  any 
city,  except  the  isles  of  Lomnos,  Imbros,  and 
Scyros,  which  were  still  to  belong  to  Athens. 
Sparta  required  of  Thebes  to  give  up  her  power 
over  the  lesser  cities  of  Bceotia,  but  Sparta  herself 
did  not  give  up  Messenia  and  the  other  districts  in 
the  Peloponnesus,  so  that  she  still  remained  the 
strongest.  This  was  called  the  peace  of  Anta- 
leidas. 

Xenophon  did  not  go  back  to  Athens,  but  settled 
on  a  farm  near  Elis,  where  he  built  a  little  temple 
to  Diana,  in  imitation  of  the  one  at  Ephesus,  and 
spent  his  time  in  husbandry,  in  hunting,  and  in 
writing  his  histories,  and  also  treatises  on  dogs  and 
horses.  Once  a-year  he  held  a  great  festival  in 
honor  of  Diana,  offering  her  the  tithe  of  all  his 
produce,  and  feasting  all  the  villagers  around  on 
barley  meal,  wheaten  bread,  meat,  and  venison,  the 
last  of  which  was  obtained  at  a  great  hunting 
match  conducted  by  Xenophon  himself  and  his 
sons. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  TWO   THEBAN  FRIENDS. 
B.C.  3S7  — 362. 

BY  the  peace  of  Antaleidas  things  had  been  so 
settled  that  the  Spartans  had  the  chief  power 
over  Greece,  and  they  used  it  in  their  proud,  harsh 
way.  In  the  year  387  they  called  the  Theb.ans  to 
assist  in  besieging  the  city  of  Mantinea,  in  a  valley 
between  Argos  and  Arcadia.  The  Mantineans 
sallied  out,  and  there  was  a  battle,  in  which  they 
were  defeated ;  but  in  the  course  of  it  a  Theban 
youth  of  a  rich  and  noble  family,  named  Pelopidas, 
was  surrounded  by  enemies.  He  fought  desperate- 
ly, and  only  fell  at  last  under  seven  wounds  just  as 
another  Theban,  a  little  older,  named  Epaminon- 
das,  broke  in  to  his  rescue,  and  fought  over  him 
until  the  Spartans  made  in  and  bore  them  off,  but 
not  till   Epaminondas   had    likewise   been    badly 

250 


The  Two  Theban  Friends.  251 

wounded.  He  was  the  son  of  a  poor  but  noble 
father,  said  to  be  descended  from  one  of  the  men 
who  had  sprung  from  the  dragon's  teeth ;  and  he 
had  been  well  taught,  and  was  an  earnest  philoso- 
pher of  the  Pythagorean  school,  striving  to  the  ut- 
most of  his  power  to  live  a  good  and  virtuous  life. 
A  close  friendship  grew  up  between  him  and  Pelo- 
pidas,  though  the  one  loved  books,  and  the  other 
dogs  and  horses ;  but  Pelopidas  tried  to  be  as  up- 
right and  noble  as  his  friend,  and,  though  a  very 
rich  man,  lived  as  hardly  and  sparingly  as  did  Epam- 
inondas,  using  his  wealth  to  help  the  poor.  When 
some  foolish  friends  asked  him  why  he  did  not  use 
his  riches  for  his  own  ease  and  pomp,  he  laughed  at 
them,  and  pointing  to  a  helpless  cripple,  said  that 
riches  were  only  useful  to  a  man  like  that. 

Every  high-spirited  Theban  hated  the  power  that 
Sparta  had  taken  over  their  free  state,  and  wanted 
to  shake  it  off ;  but  some  of  those  who  were  bribed 
by  Sparta  sent  word  of  their  intentions  to  a  Spar- 
tan general  in  the  neighborhood,  whereupon  he 
came  down  on  Thebes  in  the  middle  of  a  festival, 
seized  the  citadel  called  the  Cadmea,  put  in  a  Spar- 
tan garrison,  and  drove  300  of  the  best  Thebans  into 
exile.  Pelopidas  was  among  them,  while  Epam- 
inondas  was  thought  of  only  as  a  poor   student, 


252  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

and  was  unnoticed  ;  but  he  went  quietly  on  advis- 
ing the  Theban  young  men  to  share  the  warlike 
exercises  of  the  Spartans  in  the  Cadmea,  so  as  to 
get  themselves  trained  to  arms  in  case  there  should 
be  a  chance  for  fighting  for  their  freedom.  In  the 
fourth  year  of  the  exile,  Pelopidas  wrote  to  beg  his 
friend  to  join  in  a  plot  by  which  some  of  the  ban- 
ished were  to  creep  into  the  city,  go  to  a  banquet 
that  was  to  be  given  to  the  chief  friends  of  the 
Spartans  disguised  as  women,  kill  them,  proclaim 
liberty,  raise  the  citizens,  and  expel  the  Spartans. 
But  Epaminondas  would  have  nothing  to  do  with 
a  scheme  that  involved  falsehood  and  treachery, 
however  much  he  longed  to  see  his  country  free. 
But  on  a  dark,  winter  evening,  Pelopidas  and 
eleven  more  young  exiles  came  one  by  one  into 
Thebes,  in  the  disguise  of  hunters,  and  met  at  the 
house  of  the  friend  who  was  going  to  give  the  feast. 
They  were  there  dressed  in  robes  and  veils,  and  in 
the  height  of  the  mirth  the  host  brought  them  in, 
and  they  fell  upon  the  half-tipsy  guests  and  slew 
them,  while  Pelopidas  had  gone  to  the  house  of  the 
most  brave  and  sober  among  them,  challenged  him, 
and  killed  him  in  fair  fight.  Then  they  shouted, 
"  Freedom  !  Down  with  the  foe  !  •"  The  citizens 
rose,  Epaminondas  among  the  first ;  the  rest  of  the 


The   Two   Theban  Friends.  253 

exiles  marched  in  at  daybreak,  and  the  Cadmea 
was  besieged  until  the  Spartans  were  obliged  to 
march  out,  and  Thebes  was  left  to  its  own  govern- 
ment by  Bceotarchs,  or  rulers  of  Bceotia,  for  a  year 
at  a  time,  of  whom  Pelipodas  was  at  once  chosen 
to  be  one. 

Of  course  there  was  a  war,  in  which  the  Thebans 
were  helped  by  Athens,  but  more  from  hatred  to 
Sparta  than  love  to  Thebes.  After  six  years  there 
was  a  conference  to  arrange  for  a  peace,  and  Epam- 
inondas,  who  was  then  Bceotarch,  spoke  so  well 
as  to  amaze  all  hearers.  Agesilaus  demanded  that 
the  Thebans  should  only  make  terms  for  them- 
selves, and  give  up  the  rest  of  Bceotia,  and  Epam- 
inondas  would  not  consent  unless  in  like  manner 
Sparta  gave  up  the  rule  over  the  other  places  in 
Laconia.  The  Athenians  would  not  stand  by  the 
Thebans,  and  all  the  allies  made  peace,  so  that 
Thebes  was  left  alone  to  resist  Sparta,  and  Epami- 
nondas  had  to  hurry  home  to  warn  her  to  defend 
herself. 

The  only  thing  in  favor  of  Thebes  was  that 
Agesilaus'  lame  leg  had  become  so  diseased  that  he 
could  not  for  five  years  go  out  to  war ;  but  the 
other  king,  Cleombrotus,  was  at  the  head  of  11,000 
men  marching  into  Boeotia,  and  Epaminondas  could 


254  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

only  get  together  6000,  with  whom  he  met  them 
at  Leuctra.  No  one  doubted  how  the  battle  would 
end,  for  the  Spartans  had  never  yet  been  beaten, 
even  by  the  Athenians,  when  they  had  the  larger 
numbers,  and,  besides,  the  quiet  scholar  Epaminon- 
das  had  never  been  thought  of  as  a  captain.  The 
omens  went  against  the  Thebans,  but  he  said  he 
knew  no  token  that  ought  to  forbid  a  man  from 
fighting  for  his  country.  Pelopiclas  commanded 
the  horsemen,  and  Epaminondas  drew  up  nis  troop 
in  a  column  fifty  men  deep,  with  which  he  dashed 
at  the  middle  of  the  Spartan  army,  which  was  only 
three  lines  deep,  and  Pelopidas'  cavalry  hovered 
about  to  cut  them  down  when  they  were  broken. 
The  plan  succeeded  perfectly.  Cleombrotus  was 
carried  dying  from  the  field,  and  Epaminondas  had 
won  the  most  difficult  victory  ever  yet  gained  by  a 
Greek.  So  far  from  being  uplifted  by  it,  all  he 
said  was,  how  glad  he  was  that  his  old  father  and 
mother  would  be  pleased.  The  victory  had  made 
Thebes  the  most  powerful  city  in  Greece,  and  he 
was  the  leading  man  in  Thebes  for  some  time ;  but 
he  had  enemies,  who  thought  him  too  gentle  with 
his  foes,  whether  men  or  cities,  and  one  year,  in  the 
absence  of  Pelopidas,  they  chose  him  to  be  inspector 
of  the  cleanliness  of  the  streets,  thinking  to  put  a 


The   Two   Theban  Friends.  255 

slur  on  him ;  but  he  fulfilled  the  duties  of  it  so  per- 
fectly that  he  made  the  office  an  honorable  one. 

Pelopidas  was  soon  after  sent  on  a  message  to 
Alexander,  the  savage  tyrant  of  Thessaly,  who 
seized  him  and  put  him  in  chains  in  a  dismal  dun- 
geon. The  Theban  army  marched  to  deliver  him, 
Epaminondas  among  them  as  a  common  soldier ; 
but  the  two  Bceotarchs  in  command  managed  so  ill 
that  they  were  beset  by  the  Thessalian  horsemen 
and  forced  to  turn  back.  In  the  retreat  they  were 
half-starved,  and  fell  into  such  danger  and  distress, 
that  all  cried  out  for  Epaminondas  to  lead  them, 
and  he  brought  them  out  safely.  The  next  year 
he  was  chosen  Bceotarch,  again  attacked  Thessaly, 
and,  by  the  mere  dread  of  his  name,  made  the 
tyrant  yield  up  Pelopidas,  and  beg  for  a  truce. 
Pelopidas  brought  home  such  horrible  accounts  of 
the  cruelties  of  Alexander,  that  as  soon  as  the 
truce  was  over,  7000  men,  with  him  at  their  head, 
invaded  Thessaly,  and  won  the  battle  of  Cynoce- 
phalae,  or  the  Dogs'  Heads.  Here  Pelopidas  was 
killed,  to  the  intense  grief  of  the  army,  who  cut 
their  hair  and  their  horses'  manes  and  tails,  lighted 
no  fire,  and  tasted  no  food  on  that  sad  night  after 
their  victory,  and  great  was  the  mourning  at 
Thebes  for  the  brave  and  upright  man  who  had 


256  Young  Folks    History  of  G-r 


eece. 


been  thirteen  times  Bceotarch.  Epaminondas  was 
at  sea  with  the  fleet  he  had  persuaded  the  Thebans 
to  raise ;  but  the  next  year  he  was  sent  into  the 
Peloponnesus  to  defend  the  allies  there  against  the 
Spartans.  He  had  almost  taken  the  city  itself, 
when  the  army  hastened  back  to  defend  it,  under 
the  command  of  Agesilaus,  who  had  recovered  and 
taken  the  field  again. 

Close  to  Mantinea,  where  Epaminondas  had 
fought  his  first  battle,  he  had  to  fight  again  with 
the  only  general  who  had  as  yet  a  fame  higher  than 
his  —  namely,  Agesilaus- — and  Xenophon  was  liv- 
ing near  enough  to  watch  the  battle.  It  was  a 
long,  fiercely-fought  combat,  but  at  last  the  Spar- 
tans began  to  give  way  and  broke  their  ranks,  still, 
however,  flinging  javelins,  one  of  which  struck 
Epaminondas  full  in  the  breast,  and  broke  as  he 
fell,  leaving  a  long  piece  of  the  shaft  fixed  in  the 
wound.  His  friends  carried  him  away  up  the  hill- 
side, where  he  found  breath  to  ask  whether  his 
shield  were  safe,  and  when  it  was  held  up  to  him, 
he  looked  down  on  the  Spartans  in  full  flight,  and 
knew  he  had  won  the  day.  He  was  in  great  pain* 
and  he  was  told  that  to  draw  out  the  spear  would 
probably  kill  him  at  once.  He  said,  therefore,  that 
he  must  wait  till  he  could  speak  to  the  two  next  in 


THE   DEATH    OF    EPAMINONDAS. 


The  Two  Theban  Friends.  259 

command ;  and  when  he  was  told  that  they  were 
both  slain,  he  said,  "Then  you  must  make  peace," 
for  he  knew  no  one  was  left  able  to  contend  against 
Agesilaus.  As  his  friends  wept,  he  said,  "  This  day 
is  not  the  end  of  my  life,  but  the  beginning  of  my 
happiness  and  completion  of  my  glory ; "  and  when 
they  bewailed  that  he  had  no  child,  he  said, 
"Leuctra  and  Mantinea  are  daughters  enough  to 
keep  my  name  alive."  Then,  as  those  who  stood 
round  faltered,  unable  to  resolve  to  draw  out  the 
dart,  he  pulled  it  out  himself  with  a  firm  hand,  and 
the  rush  of  blood  that  followed  ended  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  lives  ever  spent  by  one  who  was  a 
law  unto  himself.  He  was  buried  where  he  died, 
and  a  pillar  was  raised  over  the  spot  bearing  the 
figure  of  a  dragon,  in  memory  of  his  supposed 
dragon  lineage. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

PHILIP     OF     MACEDON. 
B.C.  364. 

I3EACE  was  made  as  Epaminondas  desired,  and 
■*•  Boeotia  never  produced  another  great  man,  as 
indeed,  the  inhabitants  had  always  been  slow  and 
dull,  so  that  a  Boeotian  was  a  by-word  for  stu- 
pidity. The  only  other  great  Boeotian  was  the 
poet  Pindar,  who  was  living  at  this  time. 

The  fifteen  years  of  Theban  power  had  weakened 
Sparta ;  but  Agesilaus  persuaded  the  Ephors  to 
send  him  to  assist  Tachos,  who  had  revolted  from 
the  Persians  and  made  himself  king  of  Egypt,  and 
who  promised  to  pay  the  Spartans  well  for  their  aid. 
When  he  sent  his  officers  to  receive  the  Spartan 
king  who  had  achieved  the  greatest  fame  of  any 
man  then  living,  they  absolutely  burst  out  laugh- 
ing at  the  sight  of  the  little,  lame  man,  now  more 


Philip  of  Macedon.  261 

than  eighty  years  old,  and  as  simply  clad  as  ever ; 
and  he  was  much  vexed  and  angered  that  he  was 
not  made  commander  of  the  army,  but  only  of  the 
foreign  allies ;  and  when  Tachos  went  against  his 
advice,  and  chose  to  march  into  Phoenicia,  he 
went  over  to  the  cause  of  another  Egyptian  prince 
a  cousin  to  Tachos,  named  Nectanebes,  whom  he 
helped  to  gain  the  crown  of  Egypt,  thus  breaking 
his  promises  in  a  way  which  we  are  sorry  should 
have  been  the  last  action  of  his  life.  The  next 
winter  he  embarked  to  return  home,  but  he  was 
driven  by  contrary  winds  to  a  place  in  Egypt  called 
the  port  of  Menelaus,  because  that  king  of  Sparta 
had  been  so  long  weather-bound  there.  The  storm 
had  been  too  much  for  the  tough  old  frame  of 
Agesilaus,  who  died  there.  His  body  was  em- 
balmed in  wax,  and  carried  home  to  be  buried  at 
Sparta,  whose  greatest  man  he  certainly  was. 

The  great  Persian  Empire  was  growing  weak, 
and  her  subject  cities  were  revolting  from  her. 
Caria,  in  Asia  Minor,  became  free  under  its  king, 
Mausolus,  who  reigned  twenty-four  years,  but  who 
is  chiefly  famous  for  the  magnificent  monument 
which  his  widow  Artemisia  raised  to  his  memory, 
and  which  consisted  of  several  stages  of  pillars, 
supported  by  tablets  so  exquisitely  sculptured  that 


262  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

the  Mausoleum,  as  it  was  called,  was  taken  into  the 
number  of  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world.  After 
all,  its  splendor  did  not  comfort  the  heart  of  Arte- 
misia, and  she  had  the  ashes  of  her  husband  taken 
from  his  urn  and  carried  them  about  her  in  a  casket, 
until  finally  she  put  them  in  water  and  drank  them, 
so  as  to  be  for  ever  one  with  them.  She  was  her- 
self buried  in  the  Mausoleum,  the  remains  of  which 
have  lately  been  discovered,  and  are  now  placed  in 
the  British  Museum. 

One  more  great  man  had  grown  up  in  Athens  — 
namely,  Demosthenes.  He  was  the  son  of  an 
Athenian  sword  merchant,  who  died  when  he  was 
but  seven  years  old.  His  guardians  neglected  his 
property,  and  he  was  a  sickly  boy,  with  some 
defect  in  his  speech,  so  that  his  mother  kept  him  at 
home  as  much  as  she  could,  and  he  was  never 
trained  in  mind  or  body  like  the  other  Athenian 
youth ;  but,  as  he  grew  older,  he  seems  to  have 
learned  much  from  the  philosopher  Plato,  and  he 
set  himself  to  lead  the  Athenians  as  a  public 
speaker.  For  this  lie  prepared  himself  diligently, 
putting  pebbles  in  his  mouth  to  help  himself  to 
overcome  his  stammering,  and  going  out  to  make 
speeches  to  the  roaring  waves  of  the  sea,  that  he 
might  learn  not  to  be  daunted  by  the  shouts  of  the 


Philip  of  Macedon.  263 

raging  people;  and  thus  he  taught  himself  to  be 
the  most  famous  orator  in  the  world,  just  as 
Phidias  was  the  greatest  sculptor  and  JEschylus 
the  chief  tragedian. 

His  most  eloquent  discourses  are  called  Philip- 
pics, because  they  were  against  Philip,  king  of 
Macedon,  a  power  that  was  growing  very  dangerous 
to  the  rest  of  Greece.  It  lay  to  the  northward  of 
the  other  states,  and  had  never  quite  been  reckoned 
as  part  of  Greece,  for  a  rough  dialect  that  was 
spoken  there,  and  the  king  had  been  forced  to  join 
the  Persian  army  when  Xerxes  crossed  his  country; 
but  he  had  loved  the  Greek  cause,  and  had  warned 
Aristides  at  the  battle  of  Platasa.  The  royal  family 
counted  Hercules  as  their  forefather,  and  were 
always  longing  to  be  accepted  as  thorough  Greeks. 
One  of  the  young  princes,  named  Philip,  was  taken 
to  Thebes  by  Pelopidas,  to  secure  him  from  his 
enemies  at  home.  He  was  lodged  in  the  house  of 
Epaminondas'  father,  and  was  much  struck  with 
the  grand  example  he  there  beheld,  though  he 
cared  more  for  the  lessons  of  good  policy  he  then 
learned  than  for  those  of  virtue. 

Two  years  after  the  battle  of  Mantinea,  Philip 
heard  that  his  elder  brother,  the  king,  was  dead, 
leaving   only   a    young  infant   upon   the    throne. 


264  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

He  went  home  at  once  and  took  the  guardian  ship 
of  the  kingdom,  gained  some  great  victories  over 
the  wild  neighbors  of  Macedon,  to  the  north,  and 
then  made  himself  king,  but  without  hurting  his 
nephew,  who  grew  up  quietly  at  his  court,  and  by- 
and-by  married  one  of  his  daughters.  He  had 
begun  to  train  his  troops  to  excellent  discipline, 
perfecting  what  was  called  the  Macedonian  pha- 
lanx, a  manner  of  arraying  his  forces  which  he  had 
learned  in  part  from  Epaminondas.  The  phalanx 
was  a  body  of  heavily-armed  foot  soldiers,  each 
carrying  a  shield,  and  a  spear  twenty-four  feet  long. 
When  they  advanced,  they  were  taught  to  lock 
their  shields  together,  so  as  to  form  a  wall,  and 
they  stood  in  ranks,  one  behind  the  other,  so  that 
the  front  row  had  four  spear  points  projecting 
before  them.   ^ 

He  also  made  the  Macedonian  nobles  send  their 
sons  to  be  trained  to  arms  at  his  court,  so  as  to 
form  a  guard  of  honor,  who  were  comrades,  friends, 
and  officers  to  the  king.  In  the  meantime,  wars 
were  going  on  —  one  called  the  Social  War  and 
one  the  Sacred  War  —  which  wasted  the  strength 
of  the  Thebans,  Spartans,  and  Athenians  all  alike, 
until  Philip  began  to  come  forward,  intending  to 
have  power  over  them  all.     At  first,  he  marched 


Philip  of  Macedon.  265 

into  Thrace,  the  wild  country  to  the  north,  and 
laid  siege  to  Methone.  In  this  city  there  was  an 
archer,  named  Aster,  who  had  once  offered  his 
service  to  the  Macedonian  army,  when  Philip,  who 
cared  the  most  for  his  phalanx,  rejected  him  con- 
temptuously, saying,  "  I  will  take  you  into  my  pay 
when  I  make  war  on  starlings."  This  man  shot  an 
arrow,  with  the  inscription  on  it,  "To  Philip's 
right  eye ; "  and  it  actually  hit  the  mark,  and  put 
out  the  eye.  Philip  caused  it  to  be  shot  back 
again,  with  the  inscription,  "If  Philip  takes  the 
city,  he  will  hang  Aster."  And  so  he  did.  Indeed 
he  took  the  loss  of  his  eye  so  much  to  heart,  that 
he  was  angry  if  anyone  mentioned  a  Cyclops  in  his 
presence. 

After  taking  Methone,  he  was  going  to  pass  into 
Thessaly,  but  the  Athenians  held  Thermopylae,  and 
he  waited  till  he  could  ally  himself  with  the  The- 
bans  against  the  Phocians.  He  took  Phocis,  and 
thus  gained  the  famous  pass,  being  able  to  attack 
it  on  both  sides.  Next  he  listened  to  envoys  from 
Messenia  and  Argos,  who  complained  of  the  do- 
minion of  the  Spartans,  and  begged  him  to  help 
them.  The  Athenians  were  on  this  urged  by  De- 
mosthenes, in  one  of  his  Philippics,  to  forget  all 
their  old  hatred  to  Sparta,  and  join  her  in  keeping 


266  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

back  the  enemy  of  both  alike  ;  and  their  intention 
of  joining  Sparta  made  Philip  wait,  and  begin  by 
trying  to  take  the  great  island  of  Eubcea,  which  he 
called  the  "  Shackles  of  Greece."  To  its  aid  was 
sent  a  body  of  Athenians,  under  the  command  of 
Phocion,  a  friend  of  Plato,  and  one  of  the  sternest 
of  Stoics,  of  whom  it  was  said  that  no  one  had  ever 
seen  him  laugh,  weep,  or  go  to  the  public  baths. 
He  went  about  barefoot,  and  never  wrapped  him- 
self up  if  he  could  help  it,  so  that  it  was  a  saying, 
"  Phocion  has  got  his  cloak  on ;  it  is  a  hard  winter." 
He  was  a  great  soldier,  and  for  the  time,  drove 
back  the  Macedonians  from  Eubcea.  But  very  few 
Athenians  had  the  spirit  of  Phocion  or  Demosthe- 
nes. They  had  grown  idle,  and  Philip  was  bribing 
all  who  would  take  his  money  among  the  other 
Greeks  to  let  his  power  and  influence  spread,  until 
at  last  he  set  forth  to  invade  Greece.  The  Thebans 
and  Athenians  joined  together  to  stop  him,  and 
met  him  at  Chasronea,  in  Boeotia  ;  but  neither  city 
could  produce  a  real  general,  and  though  at  first 
the  Athenians  gained  some  advantage,  they  did  not 
make  a  proper  use  of  it,  so  that  Philip  cried  out, 
"  The  Athenians  do  not  know  how  to  conquer," 
and  making  another  attack,  routed  them  entirely. 
Poor  Demosthenes,  who  had  never  been  in  a  battle 


DEMOSTHENES   AND   THE   CUP   OF   GOLD. 


M         - 


Philip  of  Macedon.  269 

before,  and  could  only  fight  with  his  tongue,  fled 
in  such  a  fright  that  when  a  bramble  caught  his 
tunic,  he  screamed  out,  u  Oh,  spare  my  life  ! "  The 
battle  of  Chseronea  was  a  most  terrible  overthrow, 
and  neither  Athens  nor  Thebes  ever  recovered  it. 
Macedon  entirely  gained  the  chief  power  over 
Greece,  and  Philip  was  the  chief  man  in  it,  though 
Demosthenes  never  ceased  to  try  to  stir  up  oppo- 
sition to  him.  Philip  was  a  very  able,  man,  and 
had  a  good  deal  of  nobleness  in  his  nature.  Once, 
after  a  feast,  he  had  to  hear  a  trial,  and  gave  sen- 
tence in  haste.  "  I  appeal,"  said  the  woman  who 
had  lost.  "  Appeal  ?  and  to  whom  ? "  said  the 
king.  u  I  appeal  from  Philip  drunk  to  Philip 
sober."  He  was  greatly  struck,  heard  the  case  over 
the  next  day,  and  found  that  he  had  been  wrong 
and  the  woman  right. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

THE    YOUTH   OF   ALEXANDER. 
B.C.  356—334. 

PHILIP  of  Macedon  married  Olympias,  the 
daughter  of  the  king  of  Epirus,  who  traced 
his  descent  np  to  Achilles.  She  was  beautiful,  but 
fierce  and  high-spirited ;  and  the  first  time  Philip 
saw  her  she  was  keeping  the  feast  of  Bacchus,  and 
was  dancing  fearlessly  among  great  serpents,  which 
twisted  about  among  the  maidens'  vine-wreathed 
staves,  their  baskets  of  figs,  and  even  the  ivy 
crowns  on  their  heads.  Her  wild  beauty  charmed 
him,  and  he  asked  her  in  marriage  as  soon  as  he 
had  gained  the  throne.  The  son  of  this  marriage, 
Alexander,  was  born  at  Pella  in  356.  On  the 
same  day  a  great  battle  was  won  by  Parmenio, 
Philip's  chief  general,  and  the  king's  horses  won 

the  prize  at  the    Olympic  games.     Philip  was  so 

270 


The   Youth  of  Alexander. 


271 


prosperous  that  he  declared  he  must  sacrifice  to  the 
gods,  or  they  would  be  jealous,  and  cast  him  down 
in  the  midst  of  his  happiness. 

That  same  night  the  wonder  of  the  world,  the 
temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus,  was  burnt  down  by  a 
madman  named  Erostratus,  who  thought  the  deed 
would  make  him  for  ever  famous.  It  was  built  up 
again  more  splendidly  than 
ever,  and  the  image  was 
saved. 

The  chief  physician  at 
.Philip's  court  was  Aristotle, 
a  Macedonian  of  Stagyra, 
who  had  studied  under 
Plato,  and  was  one  of  the 
greatest  and  best  of  philos- 
ophers ;  and  Philip  wrote  to 
him  at  once  that  he  rejoiced 
not  only  in  having  a  son, 
but  in  his  having  been  born 


DIANA  OF  EPHESUS. 


when  he  could  have  Aristotle  for  a  tutor.  For 
seven  years,  however,  the  boy  was  under  the  care 
of  a  noble  lady  named  Lanika,  whom  he  loved  all 
his  life,  and  then  was  placed  with  a  master,  who 
taught  him  to  repeat  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  from 
end  to  end.     He  delighted  in  them  so  much  that 


272  Young  Folks*  History  of  Greece, 

he  always  carried  a  copy  about  with  him,  and  con- 
stantly dreamt  of  equalling  his  forefather  Achilles. 
When  he  was  about  thirteen,  a  magnificent  black 
horse  called  Bucephalus,  or  Bull-head,  because  it 
had  a  white  mark  like  a  bull's  face  on  its  forehead, 
was  brought  to  Philip ;  but  it  was  so  strong  and 
restive  that  nobody  could  manage  it,  and  Philip 
was  sending  it  away,  when  Alexander  begged  leave 
to  try  to  tame  it.  First  he  turned  his  head  to  the 
sun,  having  perceived  that  its  antics  were  caused 
by  fear  of  its  own  shadow;  then  stroking  and 
caressing  it  as  he  held  the  reins,  he  gently  dropped^ 
his  fluttering  mantle  and  leaped  on  its  back,  sitting 
firm  through  all  its  leaps  and  bounds,  but  using 
neither  whip  nor  spur  nor  angry  voice,  till  at  last 
the  creature  was  brought  to  perfect  obedience. 
This  gentle  courage  and  firmness  so  delighted 
Philip  that  he  embraced  the  boy  with  tears  of  joy, 
and  gave  him  the  horse,  which,  as  long  as  it  lived, 
loved  and  served  him  like  no  one  else.  Philip  also 
said  that  such  a  boy  might  be  treated  as  a  man, 
and  therefore  put  him  under  Aristotle  three  years 
earlier  than  it  was  usual  to  begin  philosophy ;  and 
again  he  was  an  apt  and  loving  scholar,  learning 
great  wisdom  in  dealing  with  men  #nd  things,  and, 


The   Youth  of  Alexander.  273 

in  truth  learning  everything  but  how  to  control  Ins 
temper. 

At  the  battle  of  Chseronea,  Alexander  was  old 
enough  to  command  the  division  which  fought 
aganist  the  Thebans,  and  entirely  overthrew  them  ; ; 
so  that  when  peace  was  made,  Sparta  was  the  only 
city  that  refused  to  own  the  superior  might  of 
Macedon,  and  the  Council  of  the  States  chose 
Philip  as  commander  of  the  Greeks  in  the  grand 
expedition  he  was  going  to  undertake  against 
Persia. 

But  Philip  had  eastern  vices.  He  was  tired  of 
Olympias'  pride  and  wilfulness,  and  took  another 
wife,  whom  he  raised  to  the  position  of  queen ; 
and  at  the  banquet  a  half-tipsy  kinsman  of  this 
woman  insulted  Alexander,  who  threw  a  cup  at 
the  man.  Philip  started  up  to  chastise  his  son,  but 
between  rage  and  wine,  fell  down,  while  Alexander 
said,  "  See,  a  man  preparing  to  cross  from  Europe 
to  Asia  cannot  step  safely  from  one  couch  to  an- 
other !  " 

Then  he  took  his  mother  to  her  native  home,  and 
stayed  away  till  his  father  sent  for  him,  but  kept 
him  in  a  kind  of  disgrace,  until  at  the  wedding 
feast  of  Alexander's  sister  Cleopatra  with  the  king 
of  Epirus,  just  as  Philip  came  forward  in  a  white 


274  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

garment,  a  man  darted  forward  and  thrust  a  sword 
through  his  body,  then  fled  so  fast  that  be  would 
have  escaped  if  his  foot  had  not  caught  in  some 
vine  stocks,  so  that  the  guards  cut  him  to  pieces. 

Alexander  was  proclaimed  king,  at  only  twenty 
years  old;  and  Demosthenes  was  so  delighted  at 
the  death  of  the  enemy  of  Athens,  that  he  wreathed 
his  head  with  a  garland  in  token  of  joy,  little  guessing 
that  Philip's  murder  had  only  placed  a  far  greater 
man  on  the  throne.  The  first  thing  Alexander  did 
was  to  go  to  Corinth,  and  get  himself  chosen  in  his 
father's  stead  captain-general  of  the  Greeks.  Only 
the  Spartans  refused,  saying  it  was  their  custom  to 
lead,  and  not  to  follow  ;  while  the  Athenians  pre- 
tended to  submit,  meaning  to  take  the  first  oppor- 
tunity of  breaking  off  the  yoke.  Before  Alexander 
could  march,  however,  to  Persia,  he  had  to  leave 
all  safe  behind  him ;  so  he  turned  northwards  to 
subdue  the  wild  tribes  in  Thrace.  He  was  gone 
four  months,  and  the  Greeks  heard  nothing  of  him, 
so  that  the  Thebans  thought  he  must  be  lost,  and 
proclaimed  that  they  were  free  from  the  power  of 
Maceclon. 

Their  punishment  was  terrible.  Alexander  came 
back  in  haste,  fought  them  in  their  own  town, 
hunted  them  from  street  to  street,  killed  or  made 


The    Youth  of  Alexander,  275 

slaves  of  all  who  had  not  been  friends  of  his  father, 
pulled  clown  all  the  houses,  and  divided  the  lands 
between  the  other  Boeotian  cities.  This  was  for 
the  sake  of  making  an  example  of  terror ;  but  he 
afterwards  regretted  this  act,  and,  as  Bacchus  was 
the  special  gocl  of  Thebes,  he  thought  himself  pun- 
ished by  the  fits  of  rage  that  seized  him  after  any 
excess  in  wine.  The  other  Greeks,  all  but  the 
Spartans,  again  sent  envoys  to  meet  Alexander  at 
Corinth,  and  granted  him  all  the  men,  stores,  and 
money  he  asked  for.  The  only  person  who  did  not 
bow  down  to  him  was  Diogenes  s  a  philosopher  who 
so  exaggerated  Stoicism  that  he  was  called  the 
"  Mad  Socrates."  His  sect  was  called  Cynics,  from 
Cyon,  a  dog,  because  they  lived  like  dogs,  seldom 
washing,  and  sleeping  in  any  hole.  Diogenes'  lair 
was  a  huge  earthenware  tub,  that  belonged  to  the 
temple  of  the  mother  of  the  gods,  Cybele ;  and 
here  Alexander  went  to  see  him,  and  found  him 
basking  in  the  sun  before  it,  but  not  choosing  to 
take  any  notice  of  the  princely  youth  who  addressed 
him —  "I am  Alexander  the  King." 

"  And  I  am  Diogenes  the  Cynic,"  was  the  an- 
swer, in  a  tone  as  if  he  thought  himself  quite  as 
good   as   the   king.      Alexander,  however,    talked 


276  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 


much  with  him,  and  ended  by  asking  if  he  could  do 
anything  for  him. 

"  Only  stand  out  of  my  sunshine,"  was  the  an- 
swer ;  and  as  the  young  king  went  away  he  said, 

H  If  I  were  not  Alex- 
ander, I  would  be  Di- 
ogenes;" meaning,  per- 
haps, that  if  he  were 
not  to  master  all  earth- 
ly things,  he  would 
rather  despise  them. 
Twelve  years  later, 
Diogenes,  then  past 
ninety,  was  found  dead 
in  his  tub,  having 
supped  the  night  be- 
fore upon  the  raw  leg 
of  an  ox  ;  and,  strange- 
ly enough,  it  was  the 
very  night  that  Alex- 
ander died. 

Alexander  was  going 
on   with   his    prepara- 
tions  for    conquering 
the  East.     He  had  12,000  foot  soldiers  from  Mace- 


ALEXANDER. 


The    Youth  of  Alexander.  277 

don,  trained  to  fight  in  the  terrible  phalanx,  and 
5000  horsemen  ;  also  his  own  body-guard  of  young 
nobles,  bred  up  with  him  at  Pella  ;  7000  men  from 
the  Greek  states,  and  5000  who  had  been  used, 
like  the  10,000  of  Xenophon,  to  hire  themselves 
out  to  the  Persians,  and  thus  knew  the  languages, 
manners,  roads,  and  way  of  fighting  in  the  East ; 
but  altogether  he  had  only  34,500  men  with  which 
to  attack  the  empire  which  stretched  from  the 
JEgean  to  Scythia,  from  the  Euxine  to  the  African 
deserts.  Such  was  his  liberality  in  gifts  before  he 
went  away,  that  when  he  was  asked  what  he  had 
left  for  himself,  he  answered,  "  My  hopes  ;  "  and 
his  hope  was  not  merely  to  conquer  that  great 
world,  but  to  tame  it,  bring  it  into  order,  and  teach 
the  men  there  the  wisdom  and  free  spirit  of  the 
Greek  world  ;  for  he  had  learnt  from  Aristotle  that 
to  make  men  true,  brave,  virtuous  and  free  was  the 
way  to  be  godlike.  It  was  in  his  favor  that  the 
direct  line  of  Persian  kings  had  failed,  and  that 
there  had  been  wars  and  factions  all  through  the 
last  reign.  The  present  king  was  Codomanus,  a 
grand-nephew  of  that  Artaxerxes  against  whom 
Cyrus  had  led  the  ten  thousand.  He  had  come  to 
the  throne  in  336,  the  same  year  as  Alexander,  and 


278  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

was  known  as  Darius,  the  royal  name  lie  had  taken. 
Alexander  made  his  father's  councillor,  Antipater, 
governor  of  Macedon  in  his  absence,  and  took 
leave  of  his  mother  and  his  home  in  the  spring  of 
334. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

THE   EXPEDITION   TO   PERSIA. 
B.C.  334. 

ALEXANDER  passed  the  Hellespont  in  the 
April  of  334,  steering  his  own  vessel,  and 
was  the  first  to  leap  on  shore.  The  first  thing  he 
did  was  to  go  over  the  plain  of  Troy  and  all  the 
scenes  described  in  the  Iliad,  and  then  to  offer 
sacrifices  at  the  mound  said  to  be  the  tomb  of 
Achilles,  while  his  chief  friend  Hepheestion  paid 
the  same  honors  to  Patroclus. 

The  best  general  in  the  Persian  army  was  a 
Rhodian  named  Memnon,  who  wanted  to  starve 
out  Alexander  by  burning  and  destroying  all  before 
him ;  but  the  satrap  Arsaces  would  not  consent  to 
this,  and  chose  to  collect  his  forces,  and  give  battle 
to  the  Greeks  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Granicus, 

a  stream  rising  in  Mount  Ida  and  falling  into  the 
279 


280  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

Euxine.  Alexander  led  the  right  wing,  with  a 
white  plume  in  his  helmet,  so  that  all  might  know 
him ;  Parmenio  led  the  left ;  and  it  was  a  grand 
victory,  though  not  without  much  hard   fighting, 


ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 


hand  to  hand.  Alexander  was  once  in  great 
danger,  but  was  saved  by  Clitus,  the  son  of  his 
nurse  Lanika.  The  Persians  broke  and  dispersed 
so  entirely  that  no  army  was  left  in  Asia  Minor, 
and  the  satrap  Arsaces  killed  himself  in  despair. 


The  Expedition  to  Persia.  281 

Alexander  forbade  his  troops  to  plunder  the 
country,  telling  them  that  it  was  his  own,  and  that 
the  people  were  as  much  his  subjects  as  they  were ; 
and  all  the  difference  he  made  was  changing 
the  Persian  governors  for  Greek  ones.  Sarclis  and 
Ephesus  fell  into  his  hands  without  a  blow ;  and  to 
assist  in  rebuilding  the  great  temple  of  Diana,  he 
granted  all  the  tribute  hitherto  paid  to  the  Great 
King.  When  he  came  to  Caria,  Ada,  who  was 
reigning  there  as  queen,  adopted  him  as  her  son, 
and  wanted  him  to  take  all  her  best  cooks  with  him 
to  provide  his  meals  for  the  future.  He  thanked 
her,  but  said  his  tutor  had  given  him  some  far 
better  relishers  —  namely,  a  march  before  daybreak 
as  sauce  for  his  dinner,  and  a  light  dinner  as  sauce 
for  his  supper. 

When  he  came  to  Gordium,  in  Phrygia,  where 
one  version  of  the  story  of  Midas  had  placed  that 
king,  he  was  shown  a  wagon  to  which  the  yoke  was 
fastened  by  a  knotted  with  of  cornel  bough,  and 
told  that  in  this  wagon  Midas  had  come  to  Gordium, 
and  that  whoever  could  undo  it  should  be  the  lord 
of  Asia.  Alexander  dexterously  drew  out  the  pin, 
and  unwound  the  knot,  to  the  delight  of  his  fol- 
lowers. 

In   the   spring    he    dashed    down   through   the 


282  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

Taurus  mountains,  to  take  possession  of  the  city  of 
Tarsus,  in  Cilicia,  before  JMemnon  could  collect  the 
scattered  Persian  forces  to  enter  it  and  cut  him  off 
from  Syria.  He  rode  in  heated  and  wearied,  and 
at  once  threw  himself  from  his  horse  to  bathe  in  the 
waters  of  the  river  Cydnus ;  but  they  came  from  the 
melting  snows  on  the  mountains,  and  were  so 
exceedingly  cold  that  the  shock  of  the  chill  brought 
on  a  most  dangerous  fever.  One  physician,  named 
Philip,  offered  to  give  him  a  draught  that  might 
relieve  him,  but  at  the  same  time  a  warning  was 
sent  from  Parmenio  that  the  man  had  been  bribed 
to  poison  him.  Alexander  took  the  cup,  and, 
while  he  drank  it  off,  he  held  out  the  letter  to 
Philip  with  the  other  hand ;  but  happily  there  was 
no  treason,  and  he  slowly  recovered,  while  Par- 
menio was  sent  on  to  secure  the  mountain  passes. 
Darius,  however,  was  advancing  with  a  huge 
army,  in  which  was  a  band  of  Spartans,  who  hated 
the  Persians  less  than  they  did  the  Macedonians. 
The  Persian  march  was  a  splendid  sight.  There 
was  a  crystal  disk  to  represent  the  sun  over  the 
king's  tent,  and  the  army  never  moved  till  sunrise, 
when  first  were  carried  silver  altars  bearing  the 
sacred  fire,  and  followed  by  a  band  of  youths,  one 
for  each  day  in  the  year,  in  front  of  the  chariot  of 


The  Expedition  to  Persia.  283 

the  sun,  drawn  by  white  horses ;  after  winch  came 
a  horse  consecrated  to  the  sun,  and  led  by  white- 
robed  attendants.  The  king  himself  sat  in  a  high, 
richly-adorned  chariot,  wearing  a  purple  mantle, 
encrusted  with  precious  stones,  and  encompassed 
with  his  Immortal  band,  in  robes  adorned  with 
gold,  and  carrying  silver-handled  lances.  In  cov- 
ered chariots  were  his  mother  Sisygambis,  his  chief 
wife  and  her  children,  and  360  inferior  wives,  their 
baggage  occupying  600  mules  and  300  camels,  all 
protected  by  so  enormous  an  army  that  every  one 
thought  the  Macedonians  must  be  crushed. 

With  some  skill  Darius'  army  passed  from  the 
East  into  Cilicia,  and  thus  got  behind  Alexander, 
who  had  gone  two  days'  march  into  Syria  ;  but  on 
the  tidings  he  turned  back  at  once,  and  found  that 
they  had  not  guarded  the  passes  between  him  and 
them.  So  he  attacked  them  close  to  Issus,  and 
there  again  gained  a  great  victory.  When  Darius 
saw  his  Immortals  giving  way,  he  was  seized  with 
terror,  sprang  out  of  his  royal  chariot,  mounted  on 
horseback,  and  never  rested  till  he  was  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Euphrates. 

Still  there  was  a  sharp  fight,  and  Alexander  was 
slightly  wounded  in  the  thigh;  but  when  all  the 
battle  was  over  he  came  to  the  tents  of  Darius,  and 


284  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

said  lie  would  try  a  Persian  bath.  He  was  amused 
to  find  it  a  spacious  curtained  hall,  full  of  vessels  of 
gold  and  silver,  perfumes  and  ointments,  of  which 
the  simpler  Greeks  did  not  even  know  the  use,  and 
with  a  profusion  of  slaves  to  administer  them.  A 
Persian  feast  was  ready  also ;  but  just  as  he  was 
going  to  sit  down  to  it  he  heard  the  voice  of 
weeping  and  wailing  in  the  next  tent,  and  learned 
that  it  came  from  Darius'  family.  He  rose  at  once 
to  go  and  comfort  the  old  mother,  Sisygambis,  and 
went  into  her  tent  with  Hephsestion.  Both  were 
plainly  dressed,  and  Hephaestion  was  the  taller,  so 
that  the  old  queen  took  him  for  the  king,  and  threw 
herself  at  his  feet.  When  she  saw  her  mistake  she 
was  alarmed,  but  Alexander  consoled  her  gently  by 
saying,  "  Be  not  dismayed,  mother ;  this  is  Alex- 
ander's other  self."  And  he  continued  to  treat  her 
with  more  kindness  and  respect  than  she  had  ever 
met  with  before,  even  from  her  own  kindred  ;  nor 
did  he  ever  grieve  her  but  once,  when  he  showed  her 
a  robe,  spun,  woven,  and  worked  by  his  mother 
and  sisters  for  him,  and  offered  to  have  her  grand- 
children taught  to  make  the  like.  Persian  prin- 
cesses thought  it  was  dignified  to  have  nothing  to  do, 
and  Sisygambus  fancied  he  meant  to  make  slaves 
of  them ;  so  that  he  had  to  reassure  her,  and  tell 


WF^nBP™'*i«1'' 


The  Expedition  to  Persia. 


281 


her  that  the  distaff,  loom,  and  needle  were  held  to 
give  honor  to  Greek  ladies.  Darius  had  fled 
beyond  the  rivers,  and  Alexander  waited  to  follow 
till  he  should  have  reduced  the  western  part  of  the 


empire.  He  turned  into  Syria  and  Phoenicia,  and 
laid  siege  to  Tyre,  which  was  built  on  an  island  a 
little  way  from  the  sea-shore.  He  had  no  ships, 
but  he  began  building  a  causeway  across  the  water. 


288  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

However,  the  Tynans  sallied  out  and  destroyed  it ; 
and  lie  had  to  go  to  Sidon,  which  he  took  much 
more  easily,  and  thence  obtained  ships,  Avith  which 
he  beat  the  Tyrian  fleet,  and,  after  great  toil  and 
danger,  at  last  entered  Tyre,  after  a  siege  of  five 
months. 

Then  he  marched  along  the  shore  to  the  Philis- 
tine city  of  Gaza,  which  was  likewise  most  bravely 
defended  by  a  black  slave  named  Bcetis.  Alex- 
ander was  much  hurt  by  a  stone  launched  from  the 
walls,  which  struck  him  between  the  breast  and 
shoulder,  and  when  at  the  end  of  four  months'  siege 
the  city  was  stormed,  the  attack  was  led  by  one 
of  his  cousins.  A  cruel  slaughter  was  made  of  the 
citizens ;  and  then  Alexander  marched  up  the  steep 
road  to  Jerusalem,  expecting  another  tedious  siege. 
Instead  of  this,  he  beheld  a  long  procession  in  white 
bordered  with  blue,  coming  out  at  the  gates  to  meet 
him.  All  the  Priests  and  Levites,  in  their  robes, 
came  forth,  headed  by  Jaddua,  the  High  Priest,  in 
his  beautiful  raiment,  and  the  golden  mitre  on  his 
head  inscribed  with  the  words,  "Holiness  unto  the 
Lord."  So  he  had  been  commanded  by  God  in  a 
vision ;  and  when  Alexander  beheld  the  sight,  he 
threw  himself  from  his  horse,  and  adored  the  Name 
on  the  mitre.     He  told  his  officers  that  before  he 


is 


»  JVC! 


The  Expedition  to  Persia,  291 

set  out  from  home,  when  he  was  considering  of 
his  journey,  just  such  a  form  as  he  now  beheld  had 
come  and  bidden  him  fear  not,  for  he  should  be  led 
into  the  East,  and  all  Persia  should  be  delivered  to 
him.  Then  the  High  Priest  took  him  to  the  outer 
court  of  the  temple,  and  showed  him  the  very 
prophecies  of  Daniel  and  Zechariah  where  his  own 
conquests  were  foretold. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 
Alexander's  eastern  conquests. 

B.C.  331—328. 

ALEXANDER'S  next  step  was  into  Egypt, 
where  the  people  had  long  desired  to  drive 
out  the  Persians,  and  welcomed  him  gladly.  He 
wished  to  make  a  Greek  settlement  in  Egypt,  and 
bring  Greek  and  Egyptian  learning  together  ;  so  at 
the  delta  of  the  Kile  he  built  the  great  city  of 
Alexandria,  which  still  remains  as  important  as 
ever. 

So  powerful  did  he  feel  himself,  that  a  fancy 
crossed  his  mind  that,  after  all,  lie  was  no  mere 
man,  but  the  son  of  Jupiter,  and  a  demi-god,  like 
Bacchus,  or  Hercules  of  old.  There  was  a  temple 
to  the  Egyptian  god  Amnion,  on  an  oasis,  a  fertile 
spot  round  a  spring  in  the  middle  of  the  desert, 
with  an  oracle  that  Alexander  resolved  to  consult, 

292 


Alexander's  Eastern   Conquests. 


293 


and  he  made  his  way  thither  with  a  small  chosen 
band.  The  oasis  was  green  with  laurels  and  palms ; 
and  the  emblem  of  the  god,  a  gold  disk,  adorned 
with  precious  stones,  and  placed  in  a  huge  golden 
ship,  was  carried  to  meet  him  by  eighty  priests, 
with  maidens  dancing  round  them.  He  was  taken 
alone   to   the   innermost  shrine,.     What  he  heard 


TEMPLE  OF  AMMON. 


there  he  never  told ;  but  after  this  he  wore  rams' 
horns  on  his  helmet,  because  a  ram's  head  was  one 
sign  of  the  god,  whom  the  Greeks  made  out  to  be 
the  same  as  Jupiter  ;  and  from  this  time  forward 
he  became  much  more  proud  and  puffed  up,  so  that 
it  is  likely  that  he  had  been  told  by  this  oracle  just 
what  pleased  him. 


294  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

He  then  went  back  to  Tyre,  and  thence  set  out! 
for  the  East.  A  bridge  was  throAvn  across  the 
Euphrates,  but  the  Tigris  was  forded  by  the  foot 
soldiers,  holding  their  shields  above  their  heads  out 
of  the  water.  On  the  other  side  Darius  was  wait- 
ing with  all  the  men  of  the  East  to  fight  for  their 
homes,  not  for  distant  possessions,  as  had  been  the 
lands  of  Asia  Minor,  Syria,  and  Egypt.  The 
Greeks  had  four  days1  march  along  the  banks  of 
the  Tigris  before  coming  in  sight  of  the  Persian 
host  at  Arbela.  It  was  so  late  that  the  two  armies 
slept  in  sight  of  one  another.  Parmenio  advised 
the  king  to  make  a  night  attack,  but  all  the  answer 
he  got  was,  "  It  would  be  base  to  steal  a  victory  ;  " 
and  when  he  came  in  the  morning  to  say  that  all 
was  ready,  he  found  his  master  fast  asleep,  and 
asked  him  how  he  could  rest  so  calmly  with  one 
of  the  greatest  battles  in  the  world  before  him. 
"  How  could  we  not  be  calm,"  replied  Alexander, 
"  since  the  enemy  is  coming  to  deliver  himself  into 
our  hands  ?  " 

He  would  not  wear  such  a  corslet  as  had  been 
crushed  into  his  shoulder  at  Gaza,  but  put  on  a 
breast-plate  of  thick  quilted  linen,  girt  with  a  broad 
belt,  guarded  with  a  crust  of  finely-worked  metal, 
and  holding  a  light,  sharp  sword.     He  had  a  pol- 


^*u 


Alexander's  Eastern   Conquests.  297 

islied  steel  helmet,  a  long  spear  in  his  right  hand, 
and  a  shield  on  his  left  arm  ;  and  thus  he  went 
forth  to  meet  Darius,  who  came  in  the  midst  of  200 
chariots,  armed  with  scythes,  and  fifteen  trained 
elephants.  He  had  so  many  troops  that  he  intended 
to  close  the  wings  of  his  army  in  upon  the  Greeks, 
fold  them  up,  and  cut  them  off ;  but  Alexander, 
foreseeing  this,  had  warned  his  men  to  be  ready  to 
face  about  on  any  side,  and  then  drew  them  up  in 
the  shape  of  a  wedge,  and  thus  broke  into  the  very 
heart  of  the  Immortal  band,  and  was  on  the  point 
of  taking  Darius  prisoner,  when  he  was  called  off 
to  help  Parmenio,  whose  division  had  been  broken, 
so  that  the  camp  was  threatened.  Alexander's 
presence  soon  set  all  right  again,  and  made  the  vic- 
tory complete  ;  but  Darius  had  had  time  to  get 
away,  and  was  galloping  on  a  swift  horse  to  the 
Armenian  mountains.  There  was  nobody  left  to 
defend  Assyria,  and  Alexander  marched  in  through 
the  brazen  gates  of  Babylon,  when  the  streets  were 
strewn  with  flowers,  and  presents  of  lions  and 
leopards  borne  forth  to  greet  the  conqueror. 

The  great  temple  of  Bel  had  been  partly  ruined 
by  the  fire-worshiping  Persians,  and  Alexander 
greatly  pleased  the  Babylonians  by  decreeing  that 
they  might  restore  it  with  his  aid  ;  but  the  Jews  at 


298 


Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 


Babylon  would  not  work  at  an  idol  temple,  which 
they  believed  to  be  also  the  tower  of  Babel,  and 
on  their  entreaty  Alexander  permitted  them  to  have 
nothing  to  do  with  it. 

After  staying  thirty  days  at  Babylon,  he  vent 


PRINCES  OF  PERSIA. 


on  to  Susa,  where  he  found  the  brazen  statues 
which  Xerxes  had  carried  away  from  the  sack  of 
Athens.  He  sent  them  home  again,  to  show  the 
Greeks  he  had  avenged  their  cause.  When  he 
came  to  Fars  —  or,  as  the  Greeks  call  it,  Persepolis 


Alexander  s  Eastern   Conquests.  299 

—  a  wretched  band  of  captives  came  out  to  meet 
him,  with  their  eyes  put  out,  or  their  noses,  ears, 
hands,  or  feet  cut  off.  The  Greeks  never  tortured  : 
it  was  a  dreadful  sight  to  them,  and  the  king  burst 
into  tears,  and  promised  to  send  all  safe  home,  but 
they  begged  him  instead,  to  help  them  to  live 
where  they  were,  since  they  were  ashamed  to  show 
themselves  to  their  kindred.  Their  misery  made 
Alexander  decide  on  giving  the  city  up  to  plunder , 
the  men  were  killed,  the  women  and  children  made 
slaves.  He  meant  to  revenge  on  the  Persian  capi- 
tal all  that  the  Great  Kings  had  inflicted  on  the 
Greek  cities,  and  one  Corinthian  actually  shed 
tears  of  joy  at  seeing  him  on  the  throne,  exclaim- 
ing, "What  joy  have  those  Greeks  missed  who 
have  not  seen  Alexander  on  the  throne  of  Darius ! " 
Poor  Darius  had  pushed  on  into  the  mountains 
beyond  Media,  and  thither  Alexander  pursued  him  ; 
but  his  own  subjects  had  risen  against  him,  and 
placed  him  in  a  chariot  bound  with  golden  chains. 
Alexander  dashed  on  in  pursuit  with  his  fleetest 
horsemen,  riding  all  night,  and  only  resting  in  the 
noonday  heat,  for  the  last  twenty-five  miles  over  a 
desert  without  water.  At  daybreak  he  saw  the 
Persian  host  moving  along  like  a  confused  crowd. 
He  charged  them,  and  there  was  a  general  flight, 


300  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

and  presently  a  cry  that  Darius  was  taken.  Alex- 
ander galloped  up  and  found  the  unhappy  king  on 
the  ground,  speechless  and  dying,  pierced  with 
javelins  by  his  own  subjects,  who  would  not  let  him 
fall  alive  into  the  enemy's  hands,  and  supported 
by  a  Macedonian  soldier,  who  had  given  him  drink, 
and  heard  his  words  of  gratitude  to  Alexander  for 
his  kindness  to  his  family,  and  his  hopes  that  the 
conqueror  would  avenge  his  death,  and  become 
sovereign  of  the  world.  Alexander  threw  his  own 
mantle  over  the  body,  and  caused  it  to  be  em- 
balmed, and  buried  in  the  sepulchres  of  the  Persian 
kings.  V 

Now  that  the  victory  was  gained,  the  Greeks 
wanted  to  go  home,  and  keep  all  the  empire  subject 
to  them  ;  but  this  was  not  Alexander's  plan.  He 
meant  to  spread  Greek  wisdom  and  training  over 
all  the  world,  and  to  rule  Persians  as  well  as  Greeks 
for  their  own  good.  So,  though  he  let  the  Greek 
allies  go  home  with  pay,  rewards  and  honors,  he 
kept  his  Macedonians,  and  called  himself  by  the 
Persian  title,  Shah  in  Shah,  King  of  Kings, 
crowned  himself  with  the  Persian  crown,  and  wore 
royal  robes  on  state  occasions.  The  Macedonians 
could  not  bear  the  sight,  especially  the  nobles,  who 
had  lived  on  almost  equal  terms  with  him.     There 


SSfo 


Alexander  x  Eastern   Conquests.  303 

were  murmurs,  and  Parmenio  was  accused  of  being 
engaged  in  a  plot,  and  put  to  death.  It  was  the 
first  sad  stain,  on  Alexander's  life,  and  he  fell  into  a 
fierce  and  angry  mood,  being  fretted,  as  it  seems, 
by  the  murmurs  of  the  Macedonians,  and  harassed 
by  the  difficulties  of  the  wild  mountainous  country 
on  the  borders  of  Persia,  where  he  had  to  hunt 
down  the  last  Persians  who  held  out  against  him. 
At  a  town  called  Cyropolis,  a  stone  thrown  from 
the  walls  struck  him  on  the  back  of  the  neck,  and 
for  some  days  after  he  could  not  see  clearly,  so  that 
some  harm  had  probably  been  done  to  his  brain. 
A  few  days  later  he  was  foolish  enough  to  indulge 
in  a  wine-drinking  banquet,  at  which  some  flatter- 
ers began  to  praise  him  in  such  an  absurd  manner 
that  Clitus,  the  son  of  his  good  foster-mother 
Lanika,  broke  out  in  anger  at  his  sitting  still  to 
listen  to  them.  "Listen  to  truth,"  he  said,  "  or  else 
ask  no  freemen  to  join  you,  but  surround  yourself 
with  slaves." 

Alexander,  beside  himself  with  rage,  leaped  up, 
feeling  for  his  dagger  to  kill  Clitus,  but  it  was  not 
iu  his  belt,  and  they  were  both  dragged  backwards 
and  held  by  their  friends,  until  Alexander  broke 
loose,  snatched  a  pike  from  a  soldier,  and  laid  Cli- 
tus dead  at  his  feet ;  but  the  moment  he  saw  what 


304  Young  Folks*  History  of  Greece. 

he  had  done,  he  was  hardly  withheld  from  turning 
the  point  against  himself,  and  then  he  shut  himself 
up  in  his  chamber  and  wept  bitterly,  without  com- 
ing out  or  tasting  food  for  three  days.  He  caused 
Clitus  to  be  buried  with  all  honors,  and  offered 
great  sacrifices  to  Bacchus,  thinking  that  it  was 
the  god's  hatred  that  made  him  thus  pass  into 
frenzy  when  he  had  been  drinking  wine. 

He  spent  three  years  in  securing  his  conquest 
over  the  Persian  empire,  where  lie  won  the  love  of 
the  natives  by  his  justice  and  kindness,  and  founded 
many  cities,  where  he  planted  Greeks,  and  tried  to 
make  schools  and  patterns  for  the  country  round. 
They  were  almost  all  named  Alexandria,  and  still 
bear  the  name,  altered  in  some  shape  or  other; 
but  though  some  of  his  nearer  friends  loved  him  as 
heartily  as  ever,  and  many  were  proud  of  him,  or 
followed  him  for  what  they  could  get,  a  great  many 
Macedonians  hated  him  for  requiring  them  to  set 
the  example  of  respect,  and  laughed  at  the  Eastern 
forms  of  state  with  which  he  was  waited  on,  while 
they  were  still  more  angry  that  he  made  the  Per- 
sians their  equals,  and  not  their  slaves.  So  that  he 
had  more  troubles  with  the  Macedonians  than  with 
the  strangers. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

THE    END    OF    ALEXANDER. 
B.C.  328. 

BEFORE  establishing  his  empire,  Alexander 
longed  to  survey  the  unknown  lands  further 
eastwards,  and  he  led  his  army  down  the  long, 
terrible  Khybar  pass  to  the  banks  of  the  Indus, 
where  he  fought  a  great  battle  with  an  Indian  king 
called  Porus,  the  bravest  enemy  he  had  yet  met. 
At  last  Porus  was  defeated  and  made  prisoner. 
He  came  to  Alexander  as  if  he  were  visiting  him, 
and  Alexander  received  him  with  like  courtesy,  and 
asked  if  he  had  any  request  to  make.  "None,  save 
to  be  treated  as  a  king,"  said  Porus.  "  That  I  shall 
do,  for  my  own  sake,"  said  Alexander,  and  the  two 
became  friends.  In  this  country  of  the  Indus, 
Alexander  received  the  submission  of  thirty-five 
cities,   and  founded   two  more,  one  of  which  he 

305 


306  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece, 

named  Bucephala,  in  honor  of  his  good  horse 
Bucephalus,  which  died  in  the  middle  of  a  battle 
without  a  wound. 

Alexander  longed  to  press  on  and  see  all  the 
wonders  of  India,  and  the  great  river  Ganges,  but 
his  Macedonians  were  weary  of  the  march,  and 
absolutely  refused  to  go  any  further,  so  that  he 
was  obliged  to  turn  back,  in  hopes  of  collecting 
another  army,  and  going  to  the  very  shores  of  the 
Eastern  Ocean. 

He  would  not,  however,  return  by  the  way  he 
had  gone,  through  the  mountains,  but  he  built 
ships  on  the  river  Jhelum,  a  tributary  of  the  Indus, 
with  which  to  coast  along  the  shores  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Euphrates.  There  were  forests  of  fir  and 
pine  to  supply  the  wood,  but  their  inhabitants,  the 
apes  and  monkeys,  collected  in  such  force  on  the 
top  of  a  hill  near  at  hand,  that  the  Greeks  thought 
they  were  human  enemies,  and  were  about  to  attack 
them,  till  a  native  explained  the  mistake. 

They  met  more  dangerous  enemies  when  they 
came  to  Mooltan,  the  city  of  a  tribe  called  the 
Malli.  Tins  was  a  fort  shut  in  by  a  strong  outer 
wall,  within  which  trees  were  growing.  Alexander 
planted  a  ladder  against  the  wall,,  and  mounted  it 
first,  but  while  his  men  were  climbing  up  after  him, 


The  End  of  Alexander.  307 

it  broke,  and  he  stood  alone  on  the  wall,  a  mark  for 
all  the  darts  of  the  enemy.     His  guards  stretched 
up  their  arms,  begging  him  to  leap  back  to  them, 
but  he  scorned  to  do  this,  and  jumped  down  within, 
among  the  enemy.     They  gave  back  for  a  moment, 
but,  on  finding  that  he  was  quite  alone,  closed  in 
upon  him.     He  set  his  back  against  the  wall,  under 
a    fig-tree,   and    slew    with    his    sword    all    who 
approached.     Then  they  formed  into  a  half-circle, 
and  shot  at  him  with  barbed  arrows,  six  feet  long. 
By  this  time  a  few  of  his  guards  had  climbed  up 
the  wall,  and  were  coming  down  to  his  help,  at  the 
moment  when  an  arrow  pierced  his  breast,  and  he 
sank  down  in  a  kneeling  posture,  with  his  brow  on 
the  rim  of  his  shield,  while   his  men   held  their 
shields  over  him  till  the  rest  could  come  to  their  aid, 
and  he  was  taken  up  as  one  dead,  and  carried  out 
on    his   shield,    while   all    within   the    fort    were 
slaughtered  in  the  rage  of  the  Macedonians.     When 
the  king  had  been  carried  to  his  tent,  the  point  of 
the   arrow   was   found   to   be  firmly   fixed  in   his 
breast-bone,  and  he  bade  Perdiccas,  his  friend,  cut 
a   gash   wide  enough  to  allow  the   barbs  to   pass 
before    drawing   it   out.     He   refused   to   be   held 
while  this  was   done,   but   kept  himself  perfectly 
still,    until   he   fainted,  and   lay   for   many   hours 


308  young  Folks    History  of  Greece. 

between  life  and  death ;  nor  was  it  for  a  week  that 
he  could  even  bear  to  be  placed  on  board  a  galley, 
and  lie  on  the  deck  under  an  awning  as  it  went 
down  the  river,  whilst  his  men  were  in  raptures  to 
see  him  restored  to  them. 

He  had  to  halt  for  some  weeks,  and  then  proceed 
along  the  Indus,  until  he  reached  the  Indian  Ocean, 
where  the  Greeks  were  delighted  to  see  their  old 
friend  the  sea,  though  they  were  amazed  at  the 
tides,  having  never  seen  any  in  their  own  Mediter- 
ranean. Alexander  now  sent  an  old  commander, 
Nearchus,  to  take  charge  of  the  ships  along  the 
coast,  while  he  himself  marched  along  inland,  to 
collect  provisions  and  dig  wells  for  their  supply ; 
but  the  dreadful,  bare,  waterless  country,  covered 
with  rocks,  is  so  unfit  for  men  that  his  troops 
suffered  exceedingly,  and  hardly  anyone  has  been 
there  since  his  time.  He  shared  all  the  distresses 
of  his  soldiers,  and  once,  when  a  little  water,  found 
with  great  difficulty,  was  brought  him  as  he  plod- 
ded along  in  the  scorching  heat  of  a  noonday  sun, 
he  gave  heartfelt  thanks,  but  in  the  sight  of  all 
poured  out  the  water,  not  choosing  to  take  to  him- 
self what  all  could  not  share.  In  the  midst  the 
guides  lost  their  way,  and  Alexander  had  to  steer 
their  course  for  a  week  by  his  own  instinct,  and  the 


The  End  of  Alexander.  309 

sun  and  stars,  until  after  sixty  days  he  reached  a 
place  which  seems  to  be  Bunpore,  part  of  the  Per- 
sian empire,  where  his  difficulties  were  over,  and 
Nearchus  by-and-by  joined  him,  after  a  wonderful 
voyage,  of  which  he  wrote  an  account,  which  has 
not  come  down  to  our  times,  so  that  we  only  know 
that  no  Greek  believed  in  it.  Alexander  meant  to 
\ry  if  he  could  sail  through  this  strange  sea,  and 
return  to  Greece  by  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  as  we 
now  know  would  have  been  quite  possible. 

He  found,  when  he  came  back  to  Persia,  that  the 
governors  he  had  left  in  the  cities  had  thought  that 
he  was  sure  to  perish  in  India,  and  had  plundered 
shamefully,  so  that  he  had  to  punish  severely  both 
Greeks  and  Persians ;  but  then,  to  make  the  two 
nations  friends,  he  held  an  immense  wedding  feast 
at  Susa,  when  eighty  Greek  bridegrooms  married 
eighty  Persian  brides.  Alexander  himself  and  his 
friend  Hephsestion  had  the  two  daughters  of  Darius, 
and  the  other  ladies  were  daughters  of  satraps. 
The  wedding  was  thus  conducted :  in  one  great 
hall  eighty  double  seats  were  placed,  and  here  the 
bridegrooms  sat  down  to  feast,  till  the  brides  en- 
tered, in  jewelled  turbans,  wide  linen  drawers, 
silken  tunics,  and  broad  belts.  Alexander  rose, 
took  his  princess  by  the  hand,  and  led  her  to  his 


310  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

seat,  and  then  all  the  rest  followed  his  example — - 
each  led  his  lady  to  his  seat,  kissed  her,  and  placed 
her  beside  him,  then  cut  a  loaf  of  bread  in  two, 
poured  out  wine,  and  ate  and  drank  with  her. 

Hephgestion  died  soon  after,  at  Ecbatana,  of  a 
fever  he  had  not  taken  care  of  in  time.  Alexander 
caused  his  corpse  to  be  brought  to  Babylon,  and 
burnt  on  a  funeral  pile  ;  while  he  himself  was  in 
an  agony  of  grief,  and  sent  to  ask  the  oracle  of 
Ammon  whether  his  friend  might  not  be  worshiped 
as  a  hero-god.  He  himself  had  already  demanded 
divine  honors  from  the  Greeks.  The  Athenians 
obeyed,  but  secretly  mocked ;  and  the  Spartans 
grimly  answered,  "  If  Alexander  will  be  a  god,  let 
him.', 

Alexander  was  at  Babylon,  newly  fortifying  it, 
and  preparing  it  to  be  the  capital  of  his  mighty 
empire.  He  held  his  court  seated  on  the  golden 
throne  of  the  Persian  Shahs,  with  a  golden  pine 
over  it,  the  leaves  of  emeralds  and  the  fruit  of  car- 
buncles ;  and  here  he  received  embassies  from 
every  known  people  in  Europe  and  Asia,  and  stood 
at  the  highest  point  of  glory  that  man  has  ever 
reached,  not  knowing  how  near  the  end  was. 

Ever  since  Cyrus  had  taken  Babylon  by  turning 
the  Euphrates  out  of  its  course,  the  ground  had 


The  End  of  Alexander.  311 

been  ill  drained,  swampy  and  unhealthy ;  and  be- 
fore setting  out  on  further  conquests,  Alexander 
wished  to  put  all  this  in  order  again,  and  went 
about  in  a  boat  on  the  canals  to  give  directions. 
His  broad-brimmed  hat  was  blown  off,  and  lodged 
among  the  weeping  willows  round  some  old  Assyr- 
ian's tomb ;  and  though  it  was  brought  back  at 
once,  the  Greeks  thought  it  having  been  on  a  tomb 
an  evil  omen,  but  the  real  harm  was  in  the  heat  of 
the  sun  on  his  bare  head,  which  he  had  shorn  in 
mourning  for  Hepheestion. 

He  meant  to  go  on  an  expedition  to  Arabia,  and 
offered  a  great  sacrifice,  but  at  night  fever  came 
on.  The  Greeks  at  home,  who  hated  him,  said  it 
was  from  drinking  a  huge  cup  of  wine  at  one 
draught ;  but  this  is  almost  certain  not  to  be  true, 
since  his  doctors  have  left  a  daily  journal  of  his 
illness,  and  make  no  mention  of  any  such  excess. 
He  daily  grew  worse,  worn  out  by  his  toils  and  his 
wounds,  and  soon  he  sank  into  a  lethargy,  in  which 
he  hardly  spoke.  Once  he  said  something  about 
his  empire  passing  to  the  strongest,  and  of  great 
strife  at  his  funeral  games,  and  at  last,  when  his 
breath  was  almost  gone,  he  held  out  his  signet  ring 
to  Perdiccas,  the  only  one  of  his  old  friends  who 
was  near  him,     He  was  only  thirty-three  years  old, 


312  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

and  had  made  his  mighty  conquests  in  twelve  years, 
when  he  thus  died  in  323.  The  poor  old  Persian 
queen,  Sisygambis,  so  grieved  for  him  that  she  re- 
fused all  food,  sat  weeping  in  a  corner,  and  died  a 
few  days  after  him. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

THE  LAST   STRUGGLES   OF  ATHENS. 
B.C.  334  —  311. 

THE  generals  of  Alexander  met  in  dismay  and 
grief  the  morning  after  his  death  at  Babylon, 
and  Perdiceas  sadly  laid  the  ring  on  the  empty 
throne.  There  was  no  one  to  go  on  with  what  he 
had  begun,  for  though  he  had  a  brother  named  Ar- 
ridseus,  the  poor  youth  was  weak  in  mind  ;  and  Alex- 
ander's own  son  was  a  little,  helpless  infant.  These 
two  were  joined  together  as  Kings  of  Macedon  and 
Shahs  of  Persia,  and  four  guardians  were  appointed 
for  them,  who  really  only  used  their  names  as  a 
means  of  getting  power  for  themselves. 

The  Greek  cities  had  always  hated  the  yoke  of 
Macedon,  and  hoped  that  Alexander  would  be  lost 
in  the  East.     They  had  been  restless  all  this  time, 

and  had  only  been  kept  down  by  the  threats  and 
313 


314  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

the  bribes  of  Antipater,  the  governor  of  Macedon. 
When  the  news  of  Alexander's  death  first  came  to 
Athens,  the  people  were  ready  to  make  a  great 
outbreak,  but  the  more  cautious  would  not  believe 
it,  and  Phocion  advised  them  to  wait,  "for,"  he 
said,  "  if  he  is  dead  to-day,  he  will  still  be  dead  to- 
morrow and  the  next  day,  so  that  we  may  take 
council  at  our  leisure." 

Phocion  was  a  good  and  honest  man,  but  low- 
spirited,  and  he  thought  quiet  the  only  hope  for 
Athens.  When  he  found  that  the  citizens  were 
making  a  great  boasting,  and  were  ready  to  rush 
into  a  war  without  counting  the  cost,  he  said  he 
would  advise  one  only  "  whenever  he  saw  the 
young  men  ready  to  keep  their  ranks,  the  old  men 
to  pay  the  money,  and  the  orators  to  abstain  from 
taking  it  for  themselves."  However,  the  Athenians 
made  a  league  with  the  Thessalians  and  other 
Greeks  against  Macedon,  and  put  their  army  under 
the  command  of  Leosthenes,  a  young  man  to  whom 
Phocion  said,  "Your  speeches  are  like  cypress 
trees,  stately  and  lofty,  but  bearing  no  fruit." 
Leosthenes  defeated  Antipater  and  the  Macedonians 
at  Lamia,  and  besieged  them ;  but  still  Phocion 
had  no  hope,  and  when  asked  whether  he  could  wish 


The  Last  /Struggles  of  Athens.  315 

for  better  success,  lie  said,  "  No,  but  better  coun- 
sels." 

Demosthenes  had  in  the  meantime  been  banished 
by  the  spite  of  some  of  his  secret  enemies.  He  was 
very  angry  and  bitter,  and  as  he  lived  in  ^Egina, 
whence  he  could  still  see  the  Acropolis  and  temple 
of  Pallas  Athene,  he  exclaimed,  "  Goddess,  what 
favorites  thou  has  chosen  —  the  owl,  the  ass,  and 
the  Athenians ; "  but  in  these  days  of  joy  a  ship 
was  sent  by  the  State  to  bring  him  home,  and  fifty 
talents  were  granted  to  him. 

But  Leosthenes  was  killed  by  a  stone  from  the 
walls  of  Lamia,  and  some  Macedonian  troops  came 
home  from  the  East  to  the  help  of  Antipater. 
They  were  defeated  by  land,  but  they  beat  the 
Athenians  by  sea ;  and  in  a  second  battle  such  a 
defeat  was  given  to  the  Greeks  that  their  league 
against  Mace  don  was  broken  up,  and  each  city  was 
obliged  to  make  peace  for  itself  separately. 

Antipater  made  it  a  condition  of  granting  peace 
that  all  who  had  favored  resistance  to  Macedon 
should  be  treated  as  rebels.  Demosthenes  and  his 
friends  fled  from  Athens,  and  took  refuge  at  the 
temples  of  different  gods  ;  but  the  cruel  Macedon- 
ian was  resolved  that  they  should  all  be  put  to 
death,  and  took  a  set  of  ruffians  into  his  pay,  who 


316  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

were  called  the  Exile-hunters,  because  they  were 
to  search  out  and  kill  all  who  had  been  sent  away 
from  their  cities  for  urging  them  to  free  themselves. 
Demosthenes  was  in  the  temple  of  Neptune  at 
Calaurea.  When  the  exile-hunters  came  thither, 
he  desired  time  to  write  a  letter  to  his  friends, 
spread  a  roll  of  parchment  before  him,  and  bit  the 
top  of  the  reed  he  was  writing  with ;  after  which  he 
bowed  his  head,  and  covered  it  with  his  robe. 
There  was  poison  hidden  in  the  top  of  the  reed, 
and  presently  he  rose  up  and  said,  "  Act  the  part 
of  Creon,  and  throw  my  body  to  the  dogs.  I  quit 
thy  sanctuary,  Neptune,  still  breathing,  though 
Antipater  and  the  Macedonians  have  not  spared  it 
from  pollution." 

He  tried  to  reach  the  door,  but  as  he  passed  the 
altar,  he  fell,  and  died  with  one  groan.  Poor 
Athens  was  quite  struck  down,  and  the  affairs  were 
chiefly  managed  by  Phocion,  who  was  a  thoroughly 
honest,  upright  man,  but  submitted  to  let  the  Mac- 
edonians dictate  to  the  city,  because  he  did  not 
think  the  Athenians  could  make  head  against  them. 
Antipater  could  never  persuade  him  to  take  any 
reward  for  himself,  though  others  who  were  friends 
of  Macedon  could  never  be  satisfied  with  bribes. 
Meantime,  Perdiccas  was  coming  home,  bringing 


The  Last  Struggles  of  Athens.  317 

with  him  the  two  young  kings,  uncle  and  nephew 
and  meaning  to  put  Antipater  down ;  but  he  turned 
aside  on  his  way  to  attack  Ptolemy,  the  ablest  of 
all  Alexander's  generals,  who  was  commanding  in 
Egypt,  and  in  trying  to  cross  the  Nile  a  great  part 
of  his  army  was  cut  off,  and  multitudes  were  eaten 
by  the  crocodiles.  The  few  who  were  left  rose 
against  him  and  murdered  him  in  his  tent,  then 
offered  the  command  and  guardianship  of  the  kings 
to  Ptolemy  ;  but  he  would  not  take  it,  and  chose 
rather  to  stay  and  make  himself  king  of  Egypt, 
where  his  family  reigned  at  Alexandria  for  three 
hundred  3-ears,  all  the  kings  being  called  Ptolemy. 
Antipater  was  by  this  time  an  old  man,  and  he  died 
a  little  after ;  and  his  son  Cassander  expected  to 
take  the  government  of  Macedon,  but,  to  his 
surprise,  found  that  his  father  had  appointed  the 
old  general  Polysperchon  in  his  stead.  This  lie 
would  not  endure,  and  a  war  arose  between  the 
two.  One  of  Cassander's  friends  took  possession  of 
Pirseus,  to  hold  it  for  him;  and  Phocion  was 
accused  of  having  advised  it,  and  was  obliged  to 
flee  with  his  friends  into  a  village  in  Phocis,  where 
they  were  made  prisoners  by  Polysperchon,  who 
thought  to  please  the  Athenians  by  sending  them 
in  wagons  to  Athens  to  be  tried.     A  mob  of  the 


318  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

worst  sort  came  together,  and  would  not  hear  their 
defence,  but  sentenced  them  to  die  by  taking 
hemlock.  When  Phocion  was  asked  whether  he 
had  any  message  for  his  son,  he  said,  "  Only  that 
he  bear  no  grudge  against  the  Athenians."  There 
was  not  enough  hemlock  to  poison  all,  and  more 
was  sent  for.  The  jailer  desired  to  be  paid,  and 
Phocion  said,  "Give  the  man  his  money.  One 
cannot  even  die  for  nothing  in  Athens." 

Phocion  is  sometimes  called  the  last  of  the  Athe- 
nians, but  it  was  a  sad  kind  of  greatness,  for  he 
could  not  give  them  freedom,  and  only  tried  to 
keep  them  from  the  misery  of  war  by  submission  to 
Macedon.  The  Spartans  would  give  no  help  ;  and 
though  the  little  city  of  Megalopolis  held  bravely 
out  against  Cassander,  it  was  taken  and  horribly 
punished ;  and  it  was  plain  that  the  old  spirit  of  the 
Greeks  was  gone,  and  that  they  could  no  longer 
band  together  to  keep  out  the  enemy ;  so  they  all 
remained  in  subjection  to  Macedon,  most  of  them 
with  a  garrison  of  Macedonian  soldiers  in  their 
citadel.  But  Athens  was  as  full  of  philosophers  as 
ever,  and  became  a  sort  of  college,  where  people 
sent  their  sons  to  study  learning,  oratory,  and 
poetry,  and  hear  the  disputes  of  the  Stoic  and 
Epicurean  philosophers. 


The  Last  Struggles  of  Athens,  319 

In  the  meantine  Alexander's  embalmed  body  had 
been  buried  at  Alexandria,  and  the  two  young 
kings,  his  son  Alexander  ^Egos  and  his  half-brother 
Arridaeus,  had  been  brought  to  Macedon.  His 
mother  Olympias  put  poor  Arridseus  to  death  as 
soon  as  she  could  get  him  into  her  power.  She 
had  always  hated  Antipater,  and  now  took  part 
with  Polysperchon  against  Cassander  ;  but  this  was 
the  losing  side.  Polysperchon  was  beaten,  and 
driven  out  of  Macedon ;  and  she,  with  her  grand- 
son and  bis  mother,  the  Persian  princess  Roxana, 
shut  themselves  up  in  Pydna,  where  Cassander 
besieged  them  till  he  had  starved  them  out,  and 
Olympias  surrendered  on  condition  that  her  life  was 
spared ;  but  Cassander  did  not  keep  his  word,  and 
sent  soldiers  to  put  her  to  death.  The  young  king 
and  his  mother  were  kept  at  Amphipolis  till  the 
boy  was  sixteen  years  old;  and  then,  growing 
afraid  that  he  would  try  to  win  his  father's  throne, 
Cassander  had  them  both  slain. 

So  the  great  empire  of  Alexander  was  broken  up 
among  four  chief  powers,  Cassander  in  Macedon, 
Lysimachus  in  Thrace,  Seleucus  in  Syria,  Ptolemy 
in  Egypt. 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

THE  FOUR   NEW   KINGDOMS. 

B.C.  311—287. 

THERE  was  a  mighty  power  coming  up  against 
Cassander.  One  of  Alexander's  old  generals, 
named  Antigonus,  the  "One-eyed,"  had  received 
some  Asiatic  provinces  for  his  share  in  the  break- 
up of  the  empire,  and  when  Perdiccas  set  out  on  his 
return  was  appointed  commander  in  his  stead  in  the 
East ;  and  again,  when  Antipater  died,  Polysper- 
chon  renewed  his  appointment ;  while  Eumenes,  an 
honest  and  good  man,  was  the  regent  upheld  by 
Cassander's  party.  In  316  a  battle  was  fought  at 
Gabiene,  in  which  Eumenes  was  defeated.  He  was 
given  up  to  Antigonus  by  his  own  troops,  and  as 
the  victor  could  not  bear  to  kill  his  old  comrade,  he 
left  him  in  prison  to  be  starved  to  death. 

Then    Antigonus   took    possession    of    all    the 

320 


TIMOLEON   AND   TIMOPHANES. 


The  Four  New  Kingdom*.  323 

treasures  in  Ecbatana  and  Babylon,  and  began  to 
call  Seleucus  in  Syria  to  account  for  his  dealings 
with  the  revenues  of  the  empire.  Seleucus  fled 
into  Egypt ;  and  all  the  four  chiefs,  Ptolemy, 
Seleucus,  Lysimachus,  and  Cassander  joined  to- 
gether to  put  down  Antigonus  and  his  brave  and 
able  son,  Demetrius.  There  was  war  everywhere, 
until  in  311  peace  was  made,  on  condition  that  the 
Greek  cities  should  be  set  free,  and  that  Antigonus 
should  have  the  whole  government  of  Asia  Minor, 
Seleucus  of  Syria,  Ptolemy  of  Egypt,  Cassander  of 
Macedon,  and  Lysimachus  of  Thrace,  till  the  young 
Alexander  was  old  enough  to  govern ;  but,  as  we 
have  seen,  Cassander  murdered  him  when  he  was 
only  sixteen,  and  the  old  family  of  Macedon  was  at 
an  end.  Nor  did  Cassander  give  up  the  Greek 
cities  ;  so  Demetrius  was  sent  to  force  him  to  do  so. 
There  was  little  attempt  to  resist  him;  and  the 
Athenians  were  in  such  delight  that  they  called 
him  the  Saviour,  named  a  month  after  him,  lodged 
him  in  the  Parthenon  itself,  and  caused  his  image 
to  be  carried  in  processions  among  those  of  the 
gods  themselves.  He  took  so  many  towns  that  his 
name  in  history  is  Poliorketes,  or  the  City-taker, 
and  then  he  was  sent  to  gain  the  isle  of  Cyprus 
from  Ptolemy.    The  fleet  of  Alexander  was  thought 


324  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

the  best  in  the  world,  but  Demetrius  defeated  it 
entirely  in  the  year  306,  and  in  their  joy  the 
soldiers  called  him  and  his  father  both  kings,  and 
they  put  on  the  diadem  of  the  Shahs  of  Persia, 
making  their  capital  the  city  they  had  founded  on 
the  Orontes,  and  calling  it  Antigoneia. 

Cassander,  Ptolemy,  Lysimachus,  and  Seleucus 
all  likewise  called  themselves  kings.  And  still  the 
war  went  on.  Demetrius  was  sent  against  the 
island  of  Rhodes,  which  belonged  to  Ptolemy,  and 
besieged  the  city  a  whole  year,  but  could  not  take 
it,  and  was  obliged  to  make  peace  with  the  island- 
ers at  last,  and  to  give  them  all  the  machines  he 
had  used  in  the  siege.  These  they  sold  for  300 
talents,  and  used  the  money  to  make  an  enormous 
brazen  statue  of  Apollo,  to  stand  with  one  foot  on 
each  side  of  the  entrance  of  the  harbor.  Ships  in 
full  sail  could  pass  under  it,  and  few  men  could 
grasp  its  thumb  with  their  arms.  It  was  called  the 
Colossus  of  Rhodes,  and  was  counted  as  the  seventh 
wonder  of  the  world,  the  others  being  the  temple 
of  Diana  at  Ephesus,  the  Tomb  of  Mausolus,  the 
Lighthouse  of  Messina,  the  Walls  of  Babylon,  the 
Labyrinth  of  Crete,  and  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt. 
They  also  consecrated  a  grove  to  Ptolemy  for  the 
assistance  he  had  given  to  them. 


The  Four  New  Kingdoms. 


325 


Demetrius  then  went  to  Greece,  and  tried  to 
overthrow  Cassander,  but  the  other  kings  joined 
against  him,  and  he  was  obliged  to  go  home,  for 
Seleucus  was  threatening  Antigoneia.  Antigonus 
and  Demetrius  collected  their  forces,  and  fought  a 
great  battle  at  Ipsus,  where 
Seleucus  brought  trained  ele- 
phants from  India,  which 
had  lately  begun  to  be  used 
in  battle,  and  were  found  to 
frighten  horses  so  as  to  render 
them  quite  unmanageable. 
Demetrius,  however,  thought 
he  had  gained  the  victory,  but 
he  rushed  on  too  fast,  and  left 
his  father  unsupported,  so 
that  poor  old  Antigonus,  who 
was  eighty  years  of  age,  was 
shut  in  by  the  troops  of  Sele- 
ucus and  killed.  Demetrius 
had  to  retreat  to  Ephesus 
with  his  broken  army.  j^ 

The  Athenians,  who  had  made  so  much  of  him 
before,  now  turned  against  him,  and  made  a  law  to 
punish  with  death  anyone  who  should  speak  of 
making    peace   with    him.     However,    Cassander 


MACEDONIAN  SOLDIER. 


326  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

died,  and  his  sons  quarreled  about  the  kingdom,  so 
that  Demetrius  found  it  a  good  opportunity  to 
return  to  Greece,  and  very  soon  made  the  Athe- 
nians open  their  gates  to  him,  which  they  did  in 
fear  and  trembling ;  but  he  treated  them  so  merci- 
fully that  they  soon  admired  him  as  much  as  ever. 

Then  he  attacked  Sparta,  and  defeated  her  king, 
taking  the  city  which  had  so  long  held  out  against 
the  Macedonians ;  but  he  had  only  just  done  so 
when  he  heard  that  Ptolemy  had  recovered  all 
Cyprus  except  Salamina,  and  that  Lysimachus  had 
seized  all  Asia  Minor,  so  that  nothing  was  left  to 
him  but  his  army. 

But  there  was  a  wonderful  change  still  to  befall 
him.  Cassander's  sons,  as  had  been  said,  were 
disputing  for  the  kingdom.  Their  mother,  Thes- 
salonica,  a  daughter  of  Philip  of  Macedon,  favored 
the  youngest,  and  this  so  enraged  the  eldest  that 
he  killed  her  with  his  own  hand.  His  brother 
called  on  Demetrius  to  help  him,  and  he  came  with 
his  army ;  but  on  some  fancy  that  the  youth  was 
plotting  against  him,  he  had  him  put  to  death,  and 
convinced  the  Macedonians  that  the  act  was  just. 
They  would  not  have  the  murderer  of  his  own 
mother  as  their  king,  but  chose  Demetrius  himself 
to  be  king  of  Macedon,  so  that  almost  at  the  same 


The  Four  New  Kingdoms,  327 

time  he  lost  one  kingdom  and  gained  another,  and 
this  last  remained  in  his  family  for  several  genera- 
tions. He  tried  to  regain  Asia,  but  did  not  succeed ; 
indeed  he  was  once  again  obliged  to  fly  from 
Macedonia  in  disguise.  He  had  learned  to  admire 
the  splendors  of  the  East,  wore  a  double  diadem  on 
his  head,  and  wonderful  sandals ;  and  he  had  also 
ordered  skilful  weavers  and  embroiderers  to  make 
him  a  mantle,  on  which  the  system  of  the  universe 
as  then  understood — the  earth  in  the  centre,  with 
the  moon,  sun,  and  planets,  and  every  fixed  star 
then  discovered — was  to  be  embroidered  in  gold. 

The  Macedonians  had  not  been  used  to  see  their 
kings  crowned  at  all,  or  differently  dressed  from 
themselves,  and  they  had  hardly  borne  such  as- 
sumption of  state  from  Alexander  himself,  in  the 
height  of  his  pomp  and  glory,  and  when  he  had 
newly  taken  the  throne  of  the  kings  of  Persia ;  and 
they  were  much  offended  at  Demetrius'  splendor, 
and  still  more  at  his  pride  and  haughtiness  of 
manner,  and  inattention  to  those  who  had  to  make 
any  request  from  him. 

One  day,  when  he  was  passing  through  the  streets, 
some  persons  brought  him  some  petitions,  winch  he 
received  more  graciously  than  usual,  and  placed 
them  in  one  of  the  folds  of  his  robe  ;  but  as  soon  as 


328 


Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 


he  came  to  a  bridge  over  a  river  he  threw  them  into 
the  water,  to  the  great  offence  and  disappointment 
of  the  poor  people  who  had  brought  them. 

This  was  very  unlike  Ptolemy,  who  was  a  wise, 
clear-headed  man,  with  much  of  Alexander's  spirit 


ALEXANDRIA. 


of  teaching  and  improving  people  under  him,  and 
who  ruled  so  as  to  make  himself  much  beloved  in 
Egypt,  Cyprus,  Rhodes,  and  Palestine.  The  new 
city  of  Alexandria  was  his  capital,  and  under  him 
and  his  son  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  it  grew  to  be  a 


The  Four  New  Kingdoms.  329 

great  merchant  city,  and  also  a  school  of  art,  science, 
and  philosophy  almost  as  famous  as  Athens,  and 
with  a  library  containing  all  the  chief  books  in  the 
world,  including  the  Old  Testament.  This  was 
translated  into  Greek  by  70  learned  Jews,  and 
therefore  called  the  Septuagint. 

Seleucus,  king  of  Syria,  held  all  the  lands  from 
Persia  to  Asia  Minor.  His  capital  Antioch,  in 
Syria,  which  he  had  built  and  named  after  his  son 
Antiochus,  and  which  became  a  very  splendid  and 
beautiful  city,  full  of  a  light-minded,  merry  people, 
fond  of  games  and  shows.  He  built  many  other 
places,  calling  them  after  himself  or  his  son,  and 
placing  Greeks  to  live  in  them.  Thus,  though 
Alexander  only  reigned  twelve  years,  he  had  made 
a  great  difference  to  the  world,  for  the  Greek 
language,  learning,  and  habits  were  spread  all  over 
the  East,  and  every  well-taught  person  was  brought 
up  in  them.  So  that,  while  the  grand  old  Greek 
states  were  in  bondage,  and  produced  no  more 
great  men,  their  teachings  had  spread  farther  than 
they  ever  thought. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

PYRRHUS,   KING   OF   EPIRUS. 

B.C.  287. 

r  I  X)  the  westward  of  Greece  lay  a  mountainous 
J-  land,  bordered  by  the  Adriatic  Sea,  and  in 
old  times  called  Epirus.  The  people  spoke  a  sort 
of  barbarous  Greek,  worse  than  that  of  the  Mace- 
donians ;  but  the  royal  family  were  pure  Greeks, 
and  believed  themselves  to  be  descended  from 
Achilles ;  and  Alexander's  mother,  Olympias,  had 
been  one  of  them.  In  the  wars  and  confusion  that 
followed  upon  Alexander's  death,  the  Epirot  king, 
iEacides,  took  part,  and  this  led  to  a  rising  against 
him,  ending  in  his  being  killed,  with  all  his  family, 
except  his  little  two-year-old  son,  named  Pyrrhus, 
who  was  saved  by  some  faithful  servants.  They  fled 
towards  the  city  of  Megara,  on  the  border  of  Mace- 
don,  but  they  only  reached  it  late  at  night,  and 

330 


Pyrrhus,  King  of  Upirus.  331 

there  was  a  rough  and  rapid  river  between,  swelled 
by  rains.  They  called  to  the  people  on  the  other 
side,  and  held  up  the  little  child,  but  the  rushing 
of  the  river  drowned  their  voices,  and  their  words 
were  not  understood.  At  last  one  of  them  peeled 
off  a  piece  of  bark  from  an  oak  tree,  and  scratched 
on  it  with  the  tongue  of  a  buckle  an  account  of 
their  distress,  and  fastening  it  to  a  stone,  threw  it 
over.  The  Megarians  immediately  made  a  sort  of 
raft  with  trees,  and,  floating  over,  brought  little 
Pyrrhus  and  his  friends  across  ;  but  finding  Mace- 
don  not  safe,  since  Cassander  had  been  the  enemy 
of  iEacicles,  they  went  on  to  Illyria,  where  they 
found  the  king,  Glaucias,  sitting  with  his  queen. 
Putting  the  child  on  the  ground,  they  began  to  tell 
their  story.  At  first  the  king  was  unwilling  to 
grant  him  shelter,  being  afraid  of  Cassander  ;  but 
the  little  fellow,  crawling  about,  presently  came 
near,  and  laying  hold  of  his  leg,  pulled  himself 
upon  his  feet,  and  looked  up  in  his  face.  The 
pretty  unconscious  action  of  a  suppliant  so  moved 
Glaucias  that  he  took  him  up  in  his  arms,  and  gave 
him  into  those  of  the  queen,  bidding  her  have  him 
bred  up  among  their  own  children  ;  and  though 
Cassander  offered  200  talents,  he  would  not  give 
up  the  boy. 


332  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

When  Pyrrhus  was  twelve  years  old,  Glaucias 
sent  an  army  to  restore  liim  to  his  throne,  and 
guarded  him  there.  He  was  high-spirited,  brave, 
and  gracious,  but  remarkable  looking,  from  his  up- 
per teeth  being  all  in  one,  without  divisions.  When 
he  was  seventeen,  while  he  was  gone  to  Illyria  to 
the  wedding  of  one  of  Glaucias'  sons,  his  subjects 
rose  against  him,  and  made  one  of  his  cousins  king. 
He  then  went  to  Demetrius,  who  had  married  his 
elder  sister,  and  fought  under  him  at  the  battle  of 
Ipsus ;  after  which  Demetrius  sent  him  as  a  hostage 
to  Alexandria,  and  his  grace  and  spirit  made  him 
so  great  a  favorite  with  Ptolemy  that  he  gave  him 
his  step  daughter  Berenice  in  marriage,  and  helped 
him  to  raise  an  army  with  which  he  recovered  his 
kingdom  of  Epirus.  V 

He  had  not  long  been  settled  there  before  the 
Macedonians,  who  had  begun  to  hate  Demetrius, 
heard  such  accounts  of  Pyrrhus'  kindness  as  a  man 
and  skill  as  a  warrior,  that  the  next  time  a  war 
broke  out  they  all  deserted  Demetrius,  who  was 
forced  to  fly  in  the  disguise  of  a  common  soldier, 
and  his  wife  poisoned  herself  in  despair.  However, 
Demetrius  did  not  lose  courage,  but  left  his  son 
Antigonus  to  protect  Greece,  and  went  into  Asia 
Minor,  hoping  to   win   back  some  of  his  father's 


Pyrrhus,  King  of  JEpirus.  333 

old  kingdom  from  Seleucus,  but  he  could  get  no- 
body to  join  him ;  and  after  wandering  about  in 
hunger  and  distress  in  the  Cilician  mountains,  he 
was  forced  to  give  himself  up  a  prisoner  to  Sele- 
ucus, who  kept  him  in  captivity,  but  treated  him 
kindly,  and  let  him  hunt  in  the  royal  park.  His 
son  Antigonus,  however,  who  still  held  Greece, 
wrote  to  offer  himself  as  a  hostage,  that  his  father 
might  be  set  free ;  but  before  he  could  reach  Syria, 
Demetrius  the  City-taker  had  died  of  over-eating 
and  drinking  in  his  captivity,  and  only  the  urn 
containing  his  ashes  could  be  sent  to  his  son  in 
Greece. 

Pyrrhus  had  not  kept  Macedon  long,  for  Lysi- 
machus  attacked  him,  and  the  fickle  Macedonians 
all  went  over  to  the  Thracian,  so  that  he  was 
obliged  to  retreat  into  his  own  kingdom  of  Epirus ; 
whilst  Seleucus  and  Lysimachus  began  a  war,  in 
which  Lysimachus  was  killed ;  and  thus  both 
Thrace  and  Macedon  were  in  the  hands  of  Seleucus, 
who  is  therefore  commonly  called  the  Conqueror. 
He  was  the  last  survivor  of  all  Alexander's  gene- 
rals, and  held  all  his  empire  except  Egypt ;  but 
while  taking  possession  of  Macedonia  he  was  mur- 
dered by  a  vile  Egyptian  Greek,  whom  he  had  be- 
friended, named  Ptolemy  Keraunus.     This  man,  in 


334  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

the  confusion  that  followed,  managed  to  make  him- 
self king  of  Maceclon. 

But  just  at  this  time  the  Kelts,  or  Gauls,  the 
same  race  who  used  to  dwell  in  Britain  and  Gaul, 
made  one  of  their  great  inroads  from  the  mountains. 
The  Macedonians  thought  them  savages,  easy  to 
conquer  ;  but  it  turned  out  otherwise.  The  Kelts 
defeated  them  entirely,  cut  off  Ptolemy  Keraunus' 
head,  and  carried  it  about  upon  a  pole,  and  overran 
all  Thrace  and  Macedon.  Then  they  advanced  to 
the  Pass  of  Thermopylae,  found  the  way  over 
Mount  (Eta  by  which  Xerxes  had  surprised  the 
Spartans,  and  were  about  to  plunder  Delphi,  their 
Bran,  or  chief,  being  reported  to  say  that  the  gods 
did  not  want  riches  as  much  as  men  did.  The 
Greeks,  in  much  grief  for  their  beloved  sanctuary, 
assembled  to  fight  for  it,  and  they  were  aided  by  a 
terrible  storm  'and  earthquake,  which  dismayed  the 
Gauls,  so  that  the  next  morning  they  were  in  a 
dispirited  state,  and  could  not  stand  against  the 
Greeks.  The  Bran  was  wounded,  and  finding  that 
the  battle  was  lost,  called  the  other  chiefs  round 
him,  advised  them  to  kill  all  the  wounded  men, 
and  make  their  retreat  as  best  they  might,  and  then 
stabbed  himself  to  set  the  example.  The  others 
tried  to  retreat,  but  were  set  upon  by  the  Greeks, 


Pyrrhus,  King  of  Upirus.  335 

tormented,  and  starved ;  and  it  is  said  that  all  who 
had  marched  to  Delphi  perished,  and  the  only 
Gauls  of  all  this  host  who  survived  were  a  party  by 
the  name  of  Galatians,  and  still  kept  up  their  own 
language. 

When  they  had  thus  cut  off  Keraunus,  Antigonus 
came  from  Greece,  and  took  possession  of  Macedon. 
He  made  a  treaty  with  Antiochus,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded his  father  Seleucus  in  Syria,  and  thenceforth 
the  family  founded  by  Antigonus  the  One-eyed  held 
Macedon.  This  Antigonus  is  called  Gonatas,  from 
the  name  of  a  guard  for  the  knee  which  he  wore. 

Pyrrhus,  in  the  meantime,  set  out  on  a  wild  expe- 
dition to  help  the  Greek  colonies  in  Italy  against  the 
Romans,  hoping  to  make  himself  as  famous  in  the 
West  as  Alexander  had  done  in  the  East ;  but  the 
story  of  his  doings  there  belongs  to  the  history  of 
Rome,  so  that  I  will  leave  it.  He  was  absent  six 
years,  and  came  home  unsuccessful  to  harass 
Antigonus  again.  For  a  few  years  the  Mace- 
donians again  went  over  to  Pyrrhus,  and  he  tried 
to  conquer  Greece,  marching  against  Sparta  with 
25,000  men  2000  horses,  and  24  elephants.  He 
assaulted  the  city,  but  Spartan  bravery  was  still 
enough  to  beat  him  off  twice.  However,  he  win- 
tered   in    the    Peloponnesus,    and   in    the    spring 


Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 


attacked  the  city  of  Argos,  which  was  watched 
over  by  Antigonus,  with  his  army,  on  a  hill  near  at 
hand.  Pyrrhus  had  shown  himself  so  skilful  a 
general  that  Antigonus  would  not  fight  a  battle 
with  him,  and  at  night  some  traitors  invited 
Pyrrhus  into  Argos,  with  some  of  his  troops ;  but 
another  party  admitted  Antigonus'  son  and  his 
forces.  In  the  morning  Pyrrhus  saw  how  he  had 
been  caught,  and  sent  a  message  to  his  son 
Helenus  outside  to  break  down  part  of  the  wall, 
that  he  might  retreat ;  but  there  was  some  blunder 
in  the  message,  and  Helenus  thought  he  was  to 
come  in  to  help  his  father,  so  his  men  going  in  and 
Pyrrhus'  going  out  met  in  the  gateway  and  choked 
it.  Matters  were  made  worse  by  one  of  the  ele- 
phants falling  down  and  blocking  up  the  street, 
while  another  went  mad,  and  ran  about  trampling 
down  the  crowd  and  trumpeting.  Pyrrhus  kept  in 
the  rear,  trying  to  guard  his  men  through  the 
streets,  when  an  Argive  slightly  wounded  him,  and 
as  he  was  rushing  to  revenge  the  blow,  the  mother 
of  the  man,  who  was  looking  down  from  her 
window  above,  threw  down  a  tile,  hoping  to  save 
him,  and  struck  Pyrrhus  on  the  back  of  the  neck. 
He  fell  down  stunned,  and  a  soldier  cut  off  his  head, 
and  carried  it  to  Antigonus,  who  turned  away  in 


The  Four  New  Kingdoms.  337 

tears  at  the  sight  of  this  sad  remnant  of  the  ablest 
captain  in  Greece,  and  caused  Pyrrhus'  body  to  be 
honorably  buried  in  the  temple  of  Ceres.  Pyrrhus 
was  only  forty-six  years  old  when  he  was  thus  slain 
in  the  year  272. 

There  is  a  story  of  a  conversation  between 
Pyrrhus  and  a  philosopher  named  Kineas,  just  as 
he  was  setting  off  for  Italy.  "  What  shall  you  do 
with  these  men  ?  "  asked  Kineas.  "  Overcome  Italy 
and  Rome,"  said  Pyrrhus.  "And  what  next?" 
"  Then  Sicily  will  be  easily  conquered."  "  Is  that 
all?"  "Oh  no;  Carthage  and  Lybia  may  be  sub- 
dued next."  M  And  then ?  "  "  Then  we  may  secure 
Macedon  and  Greece."  "  And  then  ?  "  "  Then  we 
may  eat  and  drink  and  discourse."  "And  pray," 
said  Kineas,  "why  should  we  not  do  so  at  once?" 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

ARATUS  AHD  THE  ACHAIAN  LEAGUE. 
B.C.  267. 

A  NTIGONUS  GONATAS  was  now  quite  the 
-^  *■  most  powerful  person  left  in  Macedon  or 
Greece,  and  though  Sparta  and  Athens  tried  to  get 
the  help  of  Eg}^pt  against  him,  they  could  do 
nothing  to  shake  off  his  power. 

There  were  twelve  little  cities  in  the  Peloponne- 
sus, which  were  all  united  together  in  one  league, 
called  the  Achaian,  each  governing  itself,  but  all 
joining  together  against  any  enemy  outside.  In  the 
good  old  times  they  had  sent  men  to  the  wars  as 
allies  of  Sparta,  but  they  had  never  had  a  man  of 
much  mark  among  them.  In  the  evil  times,  Sicyon, 
a  city  near  Achaia,  fell  under  the  power  of  a  t}*rant, 
and    about    the    time   that    Pyrrhus  was    killed, 

Clinias,  a  citizen  of  Sicyon,  made  a  great  attempt 

338 


Aratus  arid  the  Achaian  League.  339 

to  free  his  townsmen,  but  he  was  found  out,  his 
house '  attacked,  and  he  and  his  family  all  put  to 
death,  except  his  son  Aratus,  a  little  boy  of  seven 
years  old,  who  ran  away  from  the  dreadful  sight, 
and  went  wandering  about  the  town,  till  by  chance 
he  came  into  the  house  of  the  tyrant's  sister.  She 
took  pity  on  the  poor  boy,  hid  him  from  her  brother 
all  day,  and  at  night  sent  him  to  Argos  to  some 
friends  of  his  father,  by  whom  he  was  brought  up. 

When  he  was  only  twenty  he  wrote  to  his  friends 
at  Sicyon,  and  finding  them  on  the  same  mind  with 
himself,  he  climbed  the  walls  at  night  and  met 
them.  The  people  gathered  round  him,  and  he 
caused  it  to  be  proclaimed  with  a  loud  voice, 
"  Aratus,  the  son  of  Clinias,  calls  on  Sicyon  to 
resume  her  liberty."  The  people  all  began  rushing 
to  the  tyrant's  house.  He  fled  by  an  underground 
passage,  and  his  house  was  set  on  fire,  but  not  one 
person  on  either  side  was  killed  or  wounded. 
Aratus  was  resolved  to  keep  Sicyon  free,  and  in 
order  to  make  her  strong  enough,  persuaded  the 
citizens  to  join  her  to  the  Achaian  League ;  and  he 
soon  became  the  leading  man  among  the  Achaians, 
and  his  example  made  other  cities  come  into  the 
same  band  of  union.  He  further  tried  to  gain 
strength  by  an  alliance  with  Egypt,  and  he  went 


340  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

thither  to  see  Ptolemy  III.,  called  Euergetes,  or  the 
Benefactor.  It  is  said  that  Ptolemy's  good-will 
was  won  by  Aratus'  love  of  art,  and  especially  of 
pictures.  Apelles,  the  greatest  Grecian  painter. 
was  then  living,  and  had  taken  a  portrait  of  one  of 
the  tyrants  of  Sicyon.  Aratus  had  destroyed  all 
their  likenesses,  and  he  stood  a  long  time  looking  at 
this  one  before  he  could  condemn  it,  but  at  last  he 
made  up  his  mind  that  it  must  not  be  spared. 
Ptolemy  liked  him  so  much  that  he  granted  him 
150  talents  for  the  city,  and  the  Achaians  were  so 
much  pleased  that  they  twice  elected  him  their 
general,  and  the  second  time  he  did  them  a  great 
service. 

In  the  middle  of  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth  stood 
the  city,  and  in  the  midst  stood  a  fort  called  Acro- 
Corinthus,  perched  on  a  high  hill  in  the  very  centre 
of  the  city,  so  that  whoever  held  it  was  master  of 
all  to  the  south,  and  old  Philip  of  Macedon  used  to 
call  it  the  Corinthian  shackles  of  Greece.  The 
king  of  Macedon,  Antigonus  III.,  now  held  it ;  but 
Aratus  devised  a  scheme  to  take  it.  A  Corinthian 
named  Erginus  had  come  to  Sicyon  on  business,  and 
there  met  a  friend  of  Aratus,  to  whom  he  chanced 
to  mention  that  there  was  a  narrow  path  leading 
up  to  the  Acro-Corinthus  at  a  place  where  the  wall 


Aratus  and  the  Achaian  League.  341 

was  low,  Aratus  heard  of  this,  and  promised  Er- 
ginus  sixty  talents  if  he  would  guide  him  to  the 
spot ;  but  as  he  had  not  the  money,  he  placed  all 
his  gold  and  silver  plate  and  his  wife's  jewels  in 
pledge  for  the  amount. 

On  the  appointed  night  Aratus  came  with  400 
men,  carrying  scaling-ladders,  and  placed  them  in 
the  temple  of  Juno,  outside  the  city,  where  they  all 
sat  down  and  took  off  their  shoes.  A  heavy  fog 
came  on,  and  entirely  hid  them ;  and  Aratus,  with 
100  picked  men,  came  to  the  rock  at  the  foot  of  the 
city  wall,  and  there  waited  while  Erginus  and 
seven  others,  dressed  as  travelers,  went  to  the  gates 
and  killed  the  sentinel  and  guard,  without  an  alarm. 
Then  the  ladders  were  fixed,  and  Aratus  came  up 
with  his  men,  and  stood  under  the  wall  unseen, 
while  four  men  with  lights  passed  by  them.  Three 
of  these  they  killed,  but  the  fourth  escaped,  and 
gave  the  alarm.  The  trumpets  were  sounded,  and 
every  street  was  full  of  lights  and  swarmed  with 
men ;  but  Aratus,  meantime,  was  trying  to  climb 
the  steep  rocks,  and  groping  for  the  path  leading 
up  to  the  citadel.  Happily  the  fog  lifted  for  a 
moment,  the  moon  shone  out,  and  he  saw  his  way, 
and  hastened  up  to  the  Acro-Corinthus,  where  he 
began  to  fight  with  the  astonished  garrison.     The 


342  Young  Folks    History  of  Greece. 

300  men  whom  he  had  left  in  the  temple  of  Juno 
heard  the  noise  in  the  city  and  saw  the  lights,  then 
marched  in  and  came  to  the  foot  of  the  rock,  but 
not  being  able  to  find  the  path,  they  drew  up  at 
the  foot  of  a  precipice,  sheltered  by  an  overhanging 
rock,  and  there  waited  in  much  anxiety,  hearing 
the  battle  overhead,  but  not  able  to  join  in  it.  The 
Macedonian  governor,  in  the  meantime,  had  called 
out  his  men,  and  was  going  up  to  support  the  guard 
in  the  fort,  blowing  his  trumpets,  when,  as  he 
passed  these  men,  they  dashed  out  on  him,  just  as 
if  they  had  been  put  in  ambush  on  purpose,  and 
so  dismayed  them  in  the  confusion  that  they  fancied 
the  enemy  five  times  as  many,  as  the  moon  and  the 
torches  flashed  on  their  armor,  and  they  let  them- 
selves all  be  made  prisoners. 

By  the  time  morning  had  come  Corinth  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  Achaians,  and  Aratus  came  down 
from  the  fortress  to  meet  the  people  in  the  theatre. 
His  400  men  were  drawn  up  in  two  lines  at  its 
entrances,  and  the  Corinthians  filled  the  seats,  and 
shouted  with  an  ecstacy  of  joy,  for  it  was  the  first 
time  for  nearly  a  century  that  true  Greeks  had 
gained  any  advantage  over  Macedonians.  Aratus 
was  worn  out  by  anxiety,  Ins  long  march,  and  night 
of  fighting,  and  as  he  stood  leaning  on  his  spear 


Aratus  and  the  Achaian  League,  343 

he  could  hardly  rally  strength  to  address  them, 
and  while  giving  back  to  them  the  keys  of  their 
city,  which  they  had  never  had  since  Philip's  time, 
he  exhorted  them  to  join  the  League,  which  they 
did.  The  Macedonians  were  expelled,  and  Aratus 
put  an  Achaian  garrison  into  the  Acro-Corinthus. 

His  whole  care  was  to  get  Greece  free  from  the 
Macedonians,  and  he  drove  them  out  from  city 
after  city,  persuading  each  to  join  the  Achaian 
League  asjit  was  delivered.  Argos  was  still  under 
a  tyrant  named  Aristippus,  and  Aratus  made 
many  attempts  to  turn  him  out,  by  his  usual  fash- 
ion of  night  attacks.  Once  he  got  into  the  city, 
and  fought  there  all  day,  though  he  was  wounded 
with  a  lance  in  the  thigh ;  but  he  was  obliged  to 
retreat  at  night.  However,  he  attacked  the  tyrant 
when  out  on  an  expedition,  and  slew  him,  but  still 
could  not  set  Argos  free,  as  the  tyrant's  son  Aris- 
tomenes  still  held  it. 

However,  Lysiades,  the  tyrant  of  Megalopolis, 
was  so  moved  by  admiration  for  the  patriot  that  he 
resigned,  and  the  city  joined  the  League.  In  fact, 
Aratus  was  at  this  time  quite  the  greatest  man  in 
Greece.  He  beat  the  iEtolians,  when  they  were 
on  a  foray  into  the  Achaian  territories,  and  forced 
them  to  make  peace  ;  and  he   tried  also   to  win 


344  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

Athens  and  Sparta  to  the  common  cause  against 
Macedon,  but  there  were  jealousies  in  the  way  that 
hindered  his  success,  and  all  his  enterprises  were 
rendered  more  difficult  by  his  weakly  health,  which 
always  made  him  suffer  greatly  from  the  fatigue 
and  excitement  of  a  battle. 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 

AGIS  AND   THE   REVIVAL   OF   SPARTA. 
B.C.  244—236. 

SPARTA  had  never  been  so  overcome  by  Mace- 
don  as  the  states  north  of  the  Isthmus,  but 
all  the  discipline  of  Lycurgus  had  been  forgotten, 
and  the  Ephors  and  Kings  had  become  greedy,  idle, 
and  corrupt.  One  of  the  kings,  named  Leonidas, 
had  gone  to  Antioch,  married  an  Eastern  wife,  and 
learned  all  the  Syrian  and  Persian  vanities  in  which 
King  Seleucus  delighted,  and  he  brought  these 
home  to  Sparta.  The  other  king,  Eudamidas,  was 
such  a  miser,  that  on  his  death,  in  244,  his  widow 
and  his  mother  were  said  to  possess  more  gold  than 
all  the  rest  of  the  people  in  the  state  put  together  ; 
but  he  left  a  son  named  Agis,  most  unlike  himself. 
As  soon  as,  in  his  childhood,  Agis  had  heard  the 

story  of  his  great  forefathers,  he  set  himself  to  live 
345 


346  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 


like  an  ancient  Spartan,  giving  up  whatever  Ly- 
curgus  had  forbidden,  dressing  and  eating  as 
plainly  as  he  could,  and  always  saying  that  he 
would  not  be  king  if  he  did  not  hope  to  make 
Sparta  her  true  self  again.  When  he  became  king, 
he  was  seen  in  the  usual  dress  of  a  Greek  uncrowned, 
as  the  first  Leonidas  and  Agesilaus  had  been ;  while 
the  other  king,  ill  named  Leonidas,  moved  about  in 
a  diadem  and  purple  robes 
and  jewels,  like  a  Persian 
Shah. 

Agis  was  resolved  to  bring 
back  all  the  old  rule.  There 
were  but  700  old  Dorian  Spar- 
tans left,  and  only  about  100 
of  these  still  had  their  family 
estates,  while  the  others  were 
starving;  and  most  of  the 
property  was  in  the  hands 
of  women.  Therefore  the 
young  king  was  resolved  to 
have  all  given  up  and  divided 
again,  and  he  prevailed  on  his  mother  and  grand- 
mother to  throw  all  their  wealth  into  the  common 
stock,  and  also  his  mother's  brother  Agesilaus,  who 
was  willing,  because  he  was  so  much  in  debt  that 


Agis  and  the  Revival  of  Sparta.  847 

he  could  hardly  lose  by  any  change.  The  other 
ladies  made  a  great  outcry,  and  Leonidas  was  very 
angry,  but  he  did  not  dare  to  hinder  all  this,  because 
all  the  high-born  men  who  had  been  so  poor,  were 
on  the  young  king's  side. 

So  there  was  a  public  assembly,  and  one  of  the 
Ephors  proposed  the  reform,  showing  how  ease  and 
pleasure  had  brought  their  city  low,  and  how  hardi- 
hood and  courage  might  yet  bring  back  her  true 
greatness.  Leonidas  spoke  against  the  changes, 
but  Agis  argued  with  such  fire  and  force  that  he 
won  over  all  that  were  high-minded  enough  to 
understand  him,  and  in  especial  Cleombrotus,  the 
son-in-law  of  Leonidas.  Agis  laid  down  before  the 
assembly  all  his  father's  vast  hoards,  and  his 
example  was  followed  by  many ;  but  the  other  king 
put  such  difficulties  in  the  way  that  the  reformers 
found  that  they  could  do  nothing  unless  they  re- 
moved him,  so  they  brought  forward  an  old  law, 
which  forbade  that  any  son  of  Hercules  should 
reign  who  had  married  a  foreign  woman,  or  so- 
journed in  a  strange  land. 

On  hearing  of  this  Leonidas  took  refuge  in  the 
temple  of  Athene,  and  as  he  did  not  appear  when 
he  was  summoned  before  the  Ephors,  they  deposed 
him,   and   named   Cleombrotus  in   his  stead;   but 


348  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

when  Agis  found  there  was  a  plan  for  killing  the 
old  king,  he  took  care  to  send  him  away  in  safety 
to  Tegea,  with  his  daughter  Chilonis,  who  clave  to 
him  in  trouble. 

Agis  thought  his  uncle  Agesilaus  was  heartily 
with  the  change,  and  so  had  him  chosen  one  of  the 
Ephors ;  but,  in  truth,  all  Agesilaus  wanted  was  to 
be  free  from  his  debts,  and  he  persuaded  the  young 
king  that  the  lands  could  not  be  freshly  divided  till 
all  debts  had  been  cancelled.  So  all  the  bonds 
were  brought  into  the  market-place  and  burnt, 
while  Agesilaus  cried  out  that  he  had  never  seen 
so  fine  a  fire ;  but  having  done  this,  he  was  resolved 
not  to  part  with  his  wealth,  and  delayed  till  the 
iEtolians  made  an  attack  on  the  Peloponnesus,  and 
Aratus  called  on  Sparta  to  assist  the  Achaians. 
Agis  was  sent  at  the  head  of  an  army  to  the 
Isthmus,  and  there  behaved  like  an  ancient  Spartan 
king,  sharing  all  the  toils  and  hardships  of  the 
soldiers,  and  wearing  nothing  to  distinguish  him 
from  them  ;  but  while  he  was  away  everything  had 
gone  wrong  at  Sparta;  people  had  gone  back  to 
their  old  bad  habits,  and  Agesilaus  was  using  his 
office  of  Ephor  so  shamefully  that  he  had  been 
obliged  to  have  a  guard  of  soldiers  to  protect  him 
from  the   people.     This   behaviour   had  made  the 


Agis  and  the  Revival  of  Sparta.  849 

people  suspect  his  nephew  of  being  dishonest  in  his 
reforms,  and  they  had  sent  to  recall  Leonidas. 

Agesilaus  fled,  and  Agis  was  obliged  to  take  sanc- 
tuary in  Athene's  temple,  and  Cleombrotus  in  that 
of  Neptune,  where  Leonidas  found  him.  His  wife 
Chilonis,  with  her  two  little  children,  threw  herself 
between  him  and  her  father,  pleading  for  his  life, 
and  promising  he  should  leave  the  city;  and 
Leonidas  listened,  trying  to  make  her  remain,  but 
she  clung  to  her  husband,  and  went  into  exile  with 
him. 

Agiatis,  the  young  wife  of  Agis,  could  not  join 
him  in  the  temple,  being  kept  at  home  by  the  birth 
of  her  first  babe.  He  never  left  the  sanctuary, 
except  to  go  to  the  baths,  to  which  he  was 
guarded  by  armed  friends.  At  last  two  of  these 
were  bribed  to  betray  him.  One  said,  u  Agis,  I 
must  take  you  to  the  Ephors,"  and  the  other  threw 
a  cloak  over  his  head ;  while  Leonidas  came  up  with 
a  guard  of  soldiers  and  dragged  him  to  prison, 
where  the  Ephors  came  to  examine  him.  One 
asked  him  if  he  repented.  "  I  can  never  repent  of 
virtue,"  he  said. 

They  sentenced  him  to  die ;  and  finding  that  his 
mother  and  grandmother  were  trying  to  stir  up  the 
people  to  demand  that  he  should  be  heard  in  public, 


350  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

they  sent  the  executioners  at  once  to  put  him  to 
death.  One  of  them  came  in  tears,  but  Agis 
quickly  said,  "  Weep  not,  friend ;  I  am  happier  than 
those  who  condemn  me ; "  and  he  held  out  his  neck 
for  the  rope  which  strangled  him  just  as  his  grand- 
mother and  mother  came  in.  The  grandmother  was 
strangled  the  next  moment.  The  mother  said, 
"May  this  be  for  the  good  of  Sparta,"  and  after 
laying  out  the  limbs  of  her  son  and  mother,  was 
also  put  to  death ;  and  the  young  widow  Agiatis, 
with  her  babe,  was  carried  to  the  house  of  Leonidas. 
The  reform  of  Agis  had  lasted  only  three  years, 
and  he  was  but  twenty-two,  when  his  plans  were 
thus  cruelly  cut  short. 

Leonidas  was  thus  left  to  reign  alone,  the  first 
time  such  a  thing  had  happened  in  Sparta.  As 
poor  Agiatis  was  a  rich  heiress,  he  kept  her  in  the 
house,  and  married  her  to  his  son  Cleomenes,  a 
mere  boy,  much  younger  than  herself.  She  was 
the  fairest  and  wisest  woman  in  Greece ;  and 
though  she  always  was  cold,  grave  and  stern 
towards  the  wicked  old  king,  she  loved  his  wife, 
and  was  gentle  towards  the  young  bo}^,  who  was 
blameless  of  his  father's  sin,  and  gave  her  all  his 
heart  for  his  whole  life.  He  cared  for  nothing  so 
much  as  to  hear  from  her  of  Agis,  his  brave,  self- 


Agis  and  the  Revival  of  Sparta.  351 

denying  ways,  and  noble  plans  ;  and  thus  did  they 
live,  after  the  untimely  death  of  Agis,  strengthened 
by  the  study  of  the  Stoic  philosophy,  which  taught 
that  virtue  was  the  highest  good,  and  that  no  suf- 
fering, not  even  death,  was  to  be  shunned  in  pur- 
suit of  her. 

When  Leonidas  died,  in  236,  Cleomenes  became 
the  only  king,  but  he  was  so  young  that  Aratus 
and  the  Achaians  thought  it  was  a  good  time  for 
extending  the  power  of  their  league  at  the  expense 
of  Sparta  ;  so,  though  no  war  was  going  on,  Aratus 
sent  a  troop  by  night  to  seize  Tegea  and  Orchome- 
nus,  cities  in  alliance  with  Sparta.  But  his  designs 
were  found  out  in  time  for  Cleomenes  to  strengthen 
the  garrisons  in  both  places,  and  march  himself  to 
a  place  called  the  AthenaBum,  which  guarded  one 
of  the  passes  into  Laconia. 

This  made  the  attempt  fail,  and  Cleomenes  wrote 
to  ask  the  cause  of  the  night  march  of  the  Achaians. 
Aratus  answered  that  it  was  to  hinder  the  fortifica- 
tion of  the  Athenaeum. 

"What  was  the  use,  then,  of  torches  and  scaling- 
ladders  ?  "  asked  Cleomenes. 

Aratus  laughed,  and  asked  a  Spartan  who  was 
in  exile  what  kind  of  youth  this  young  king  was ; 
and   the    Spartan  made   reply,  "If  you  have  any 


352 


Young  Folks'   History  of  Greece. 


designs  against  Sparta,  you  had  better  begin  them 
before  the  game  chicken's  spurs  are  grown." 

It  was  a  great  pity  that  these  two  free  states 
in  Laconia  and  Achaia  were  only  wasting  their 
strength  against  each  other,  instead  of  joining 
against  Macedon. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

CLEOMENES  AND  THE  FALL  OF  SPARTA. 
B.C.  236—222. 

ARATUS  cared  more  for  Achaia  than  for 
Greece,  and  soon  was  again  at  war  with 
Sparta,  and  Cleomenes  marched  out  against  him. 
He  retreated,  and  Cleomenes  in  great  joy  put  his 
troops  in  mind  how  in  old  times  the  Spartans  never 
asked  how  many  were  the  foe,  but  only  where  they 
were.  Then  he  followed  the  Achaians  and  gained 
a  great  victory  ;  indeed  there  was  a  doubt  at  first 
whether  Aratus  were  not  slain ;  but  he  had  marched 
off  with  the  remnant  of  the  army,  and  next  was 
heard  of  as  having  taken  Mantinea. 

This  displeased  the  Ephors,  and  they  called 
Cleomenes  back.  He  hoped  to  be  stronger  by  the 
aid  of  his  fellow-king,  and,  as  the  little  child  of 
Agis  had  just  died  in  his  house,  sent  to  invite  home 

353 


354  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

Archiclamas,  the  brother  of  Agis,  who  was  living  in 
exile  ;  but  the  Ephors  had  the  youth  murdered  as 
soon  as  he  reached  Laconia,  and  then  laid  on  Cleo- 
menes  both  this  murder  and  that  of  his  little  step- 
son Agis.  But  all  the  better  sort  held  by  him,  and 
his  mother  Cratesiclea,  and  his  wife  Agiatis,  so 
cleared  him,  that  all  trusted  him,  and  he  was  again 
sent  out  with  an  army,  and  defeated  Aratus. 

He  was  sure  he  could  bring  back  good  days  to 
Sparta,  if  only  he  were  free  of  the  Ephors.  One 
of  these,  who  was  on  his  side,  went  to  sleep  in  a 
temple,  and  there  had  a  dream  that  four  of  the 
chairs  of  the  Ephors  were  taken  away,  and  that  he 
heard  a  voice  saying,  "  This  is  best  for  Sparta." 
After  this,  he  and  Cleomenes  contrived  that  the 
king  should  lead  out  an  army  containing  most  of 
the  party  against  him.  He  took  them  by  long 
marches  to  a  great  distance  from  home,  and  then 
left  them  at  night  with  a  few  trusty  friends,  with 
whom  he  fell  upon  the  Ephors  at  supper,  and  killed 
four  of  them,  the  only  blood  he  shed  in  this  matter. 
In  the  morning  he  called  the  people  together,  and 
showed  them  how  the  Ephors  had  taken  too  much 
power,  and  how  ill  they  had  used  it,  especially  in 
the  murder  of  Agis ;  and  the  people  agreed  hence- 
forth to  let  him  rule  without  them.     Then  all  debts 


Cleomenes  and  the  Fall  of  Sparta.        355 

were  given  up,  all  estates  resigned  to  be  divided 
again,  Cleomenes  himself  being  the  first  to  set  the 
example,  and  the  partition  was  made.  But  as  one 
line  of  the  Heracleid  kings  was  extinct,  Cleomenes 
made  his  brother  Euclidas  reign  with  him,  and  was 
able  to  bring  back  all  the  old  ways  of  Lycurgus, 
the  hard  fare  and  plain  living,  so  that  those  who 
had  seen  the  Eastern  state  of  the  upstart  Mace- 
donian soldiers  wondered  at  the  sight  of  the  son  of 
Hercules,  descendant  of  a  line  of  thirty-one  kings, 
showing  his  royalty  only  in  the  noble  simplicity  of 
his  bearing. 

Mantinea  turned  out  the  Achaians  and  invited 
Cleomenes  back,  and  now  it  was  plain  that  the  real 
question  was  whether  the  Spartan  kingdom  or  the 
Achaian  League  should  lead  the  Peloponnesus  — 
in  truth,  between  Aratus  and  Cleomenes.  Another 
victory  was  gained  over  the  Achaians,  a  treaty  was 
made,  and  they  were  going  to  name  Cleomenes 
head  of  the  League,  when  he  fell  ill.  He  had  over- 
tried  his  strength  by  long  marches,  and  chilled 
himself  by  drinking  cold  water ;  he  broke  a  blood- 
vessel, and  had  to  be  carried  home  in  a  litter, 
causing  meantime  the  Achaian  prisoners  to  be  set 
free,  to  show  that  he  meant  to  keep  the  treaty. 

But   Aratus,   in   his  jealousy,    forgot   that   the 


356  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

great  work  of  his  youth  had  been  to  get  free  of 
Mace  don,  and  in  order  to  put  down  Sparta  and 
Cleomenes,  actually  asked  the  help  of  Antigonus, 
king  of  Macedon,  and  brought  his  hated  troops  back 
into  the  Peloponnesus,  promising  to  welcome  them, 
if  only  Cleomenes  might  be  put  clown. 

The  brave  young  king  had  recovered  and  taken 
Argos,  and  soon  after  Corinth  drove  out  the  Achaian 
garrison  and  gave  themselves  to  him;  but  the 
great  Macedonian  force  under  Antigonus  himself 
was  advancing,  and  Corinth  in  terror  went  over  to 
him,  the  other  allies  deserted,  and  Cleomenes  was 
marching  back  to  Sparta,  when  a  messenger  met 
him  at  Tegea  with  tidings  of  the  death  of  his  be- 
loved wife.  He  listened  steadily,  gave  orders  for 
the  defence  of  Tegea,  and  then,  traveling  all  night, 
went  home  and  gave  way  to  an  agony  of  grief,  with 
his  mother  and  two  little  children. 

He  had  but  5000  Spartans,  and  his  only  hope 
was  in  getting  aid  from  Ptolemy  the  Benefactor, 
king  of  Egypt.  This  was  promised,  but  only  on 
condition  that  he  would  send  as  hostages  to  Egypt 
his  mother  and  babes.  He  was  exceedingly  grieved, 
and  could  not  bear  to  tell  his  mother ;  but  she  saw 
his  distress,  and  found  out  the  cause  from  his 
friends.     She   laughed  in   hopes  of  cheering   him. 


Cleomenes  and  the  Fail  of  Sparta,        357 

"Was  this  what  you  feared  to  tell  me  ?  Put  me  on 
board  ship  at  once,  and  send  this  old  carcase  where 
it  may  be  of  the  most  use  to  Sparta."  He  escorted 
her,  at  the  head  of  the  whole  army,  to  the  promon- 
tory of  Taenarus,  where  the  temple  of  Neptune 
looks  out  into  the  sea.  In  the  temple  they  parted, 
Cleomenes  weeping  in  such  bitter  sorrow  that  his 
mother's  spirit  rose.  "  Go  to,  king  of  Sparta,"  she 
said.  "  Without  doors,  let  none  see  us  weep,  nor 
do  anything  contrary  to  the  honor  and  dignity  of 
Sparta.  That  at  least  is  our  own  power,  though, 
for  the  rest,  success  or  failure  depends  on  the  gods." 
So  she  sailed  away,  and  Cleomenes  went  back  to 
do  his  part.  The  Achaians  had  not  only  given 
Antigonus  the  title  of  Head  of  the  League,  but 
had  set  up  his  statues,  and  were  giving  him  the 
divine  honors  that  had  been  granted  to  Alexander 
and  to  Demetrius  the  City-taker. 

The  only  part  of  the  Peloponnesus  that  still  held 
out  was  Laconia.  Cleomenes  guarded  all  the 
passes,  though  the  struggle  was  almost  without 
hope,  for  little  help  came  from  Egypt,  only  a  letter 
from  brave  old  Cratesiclea,  begging  that  whatever 
was  best  for  the  country  might  be  done  without 
regard  to  an  old  woman  or  a  child.  Cleomenes 
then   let  the  slaves  buy  their  freedom,  and  made 


358  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

2000  soldiers  from  among  them,  and  marching  out 
with  these  he  surprised  and  took  the  Achaian  city 
of  Megalopolis.  One  small  part}^  of  citizens,  under 
a  brave  young  man  named  Philopcemen,  fought, 
while  the  rest  had  time  to. escape  to  Messene. 
Cleomenes  offered  to  give  them  back  the  place  if 
they  would  join  with  Sparta,  but  they  refused,  and 
he  had  the  whole  town  plundered  and  burnt  as  a 
warning  to  the  other  Peloponnesians,  and  the  next 
year  he  ravaged  Argolis,  and  beat  down  the  stand- 
ing corn  with  great  wooden  swords. 

But  Antigonus  had  collected  a  vast  force  to 
subdue  the  Peloponnesus,  and  Cleomenes  prepared 
for  his  last  battle  at  Sellasia,  a  place  between  two 
hills.  On  one  named  Evas  he  placed  his  brother 
Euclidas,  on  the  other  named  Olympus  he  posted 
himself,  with  his  cavalry  in  the  middle.  He  had 
but  20,000  men,  and  Antigonus  three  times  as 
many,  with  all  the  Achaians  among  them.  Euclidas 
did  not,  as  his  brother  had  intended,  charge  down 
the  hill,  but  was  driven  backwards  over  the  preci- 
pices that  lay  behind  him.  The  cavalry  were 
beaten  by  Philopcemen,  who  fought  all  day, 
though  a  javelin  had  pierced  both  his  legs ;  and 
Cleomenes  found  it  quite  impossible  to  break  the 


Cleomenes  and  the  Fall  of  Sparta.        359 

Macedonian  phalanx,  and  out  of  his  6000  Spartans 
found  himself  at  the  end  of  the  day  with  only  200. 

With  these  he  rode  back  to  Sparta,  where  he 
stopped  in  the  market-place  to  tell  his  people  that 
all  was  lost,  and  they  had  better  make  what  terms 
they  could.  They  should  decide  whether  his  life 
or  death  were  best  for  him,  and  while  they  delib- 
erated, he  turned  towards  his  own  empty  house, 
but  he  could  not  bear  to  enter  it.  A  slave  girl 
taken  from  Megalopolis  ran  out  to  bring  him  food 
and  drink,  but  he  would  taste  nothing,  only  being 
tired  out  he  leant  his  arm  sideways  against  a  pillar 
and  laid  his  head  on  it,  and  so  he  waited  in  silence 
till  word  was  brought  him  that  the  citizens  wished 
him  to  escape. 

He  quietly  left  Sparta  and  sailed  for  Alexandria, 
where  the  king,  Ptolemy  the  Benefactor,  at  first 
was  short  and  cold  with  him,  because  he  would  not 
cringe  to  him,  but  soon  learned  to  admire  him, 
treated  him  as  a  brother,  promised  him  help  to 
regain  Sparta,  and  gave  him  a  pension,  which  he 
spent  in  relieving  other  exiled  Greeks.  But  the 
Benefactor  died,  and  his  son,  Ptolemy  Philopator, 
was  a  selfish  wretch,  who  hated  and  dreaded  the 
grave,  stern  man  who  was  a  continual  rebuke  to 
him,  and  who,  the  Alexandrians  said,  walked  about 


360  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece, 

like  a  lion  in  a  sheepfold.  He  refused  the  fleet  his 
father  had  promised,  v/oulil  not  let  Clcomenes  go 
back  alone  to  try  his  fortune  on  Antigonus'  death, 
and  at  last,  on  some  report  of  his  meaning  to  attack 
Cyrene,  had  him  shut  up  with  his  friends  in  a  large 
room.  They  broke  forth,  and  tried  to  fight  their 
way  to  a  ship,  but  they  were  hemmed  in,  no  one 
came  to  their  aid,  and  rather  than  be  taken  prison- 
ers, they  all  fell  on  their  own  swords ;  and  on  the 
tidings,  Ptolemy  commanded  all  the  women  and 
children  to  be  put  to  death.  Cratesiclea  saw  her 
two  grandsons  slain  before  her  eyes,  and  then  cry- 
ing, "Oh  children,  where  are  ye,  gone?"  herself 
held  out  her  neck  for  the  rope. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

PHILOPCEMEN,   THE  LAST   OF   THE   GREEKS. 
B.C.  230—184. 

THE  jealousy  and  rivalry  of  Aratus  and  the 
Achaians  had  made  them  put  themselves 
under  the  power  of  Macedon,  in  order  thus  to  over- 
throw Sparta.  Aratus  seemed  to  have  lost  all  his 
skill  and  spirit,  for  when  the  robber  ^Etolians  again 
made  an  attack  on  the  Peloponnesus,  he  managed 
so  ill  as  to  have  a  great  defeat ;  and  the  Achaians 
were  forced  again  to^  call  for  the  help  of  the  Mace- 
donians, whose  king  was  now  Philip,  son  to  An- 
tigonus. 

A  war  went  on  for  many  years  between  the 
Macedonians,  with  the  Achaians  on  the  one  hand 
and  the  JEtolians  on  the  other.  Aratus  was  a 
friend   and   adviser  to   Philip,   but   would   gladly 

have  loosened  the  yoke  he  had  helped  to  lay  on 
361 


362  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece, 

Greece.  When  the  old  Messenian  town  of  Ithome 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Philip,  he  went  into  the  tem- 
ple of  Jupiter,  with  Aratus  and  another  adviser 
called  Demetrius  the  Pharian,  to  consult  the  sacri- 
fices as  to  whether  he  should  put  a  garrison  into 
Ithome  to  overawe  Messenia.  The  omens  were 
doubtful,  and  Philip  asked  his  two  friends  what  they 
thought.  Demetrius  said,  "  If  you  have  the  soul 
of  a  priest,  jou  will  restore  the  fort  to  the  Messe- 
nians ;  if  you  have  the  soul  of  a  prince,  you  will 
hold  the  ox  by  both  his  horns."       4^ 

The  ox  was,  of  course,  the  Peloponnesus,  and  the 
other  horn  was  the  Acro-Corinthus,  which,  with 
Ithome,  gave  Philip  power  over  the  whole  penin- 
sula. The  king  then  asked  Aratus'  advice.  He 
said,  "  Thieves  nestle  in  the  fastnesses  of  rocks. 
A  king's  best  fortress  is  loyalty  and  love ;  "  and  at 
his  words  Philip  turned  away,  and  left  the  fort  to 
its  own  people.  He  was  at  that  time  a  youth  full 
of  good  promise,  but  he  let  himself  be  led  astray  by 
the  vices  and  pleasures  of  his  court,  and  withdrew 
his  favor  from  Aratus.  Then  he  began  to  misuse 
the  Messenians,  and  had  their  country  ravaged. 
Aratus,  who  was  for  the  seventeenth  time  general 
of  the  League,  made  a  complaint,  and  Philip,  in  re- 
turn, contrived  that  he  should  be  slowly  poisoned. 


Philopcemen,  the  Last  of  the   Greeks.       363 

He  said,  nothing  ;  only  once,  when  a  friend  noticed 
his  illness,  he  said,  "  This  is  the  effect  of  the  friend- 
ship of  kings."  He  died  in  213,  and  just  about 
this  time  Philopoemen  of  Megalopolis  returned 
from  serving  in  the  Cretan  army  to  fight  for  his 
country.  He  was  a  thoroughly  noble-hearted  man, 
and  a  most  excellent  general,  and  he  did  much  to 
improve  the  Achaian  army.  In  the  meantime 
Sparta  had  fallen  under  the  power  of  another  tyrant, 
called  Nabis,  a  horribly  cruel  wretch,  who  had  had 
a  statue  made  in  the  likeness  of  his  wife,  with  nails 
and  daggers  all  over  her  breast.  His  enemies  were 
put  into  her  arms  ;  she  clasped  them  and  thus  they 
died.  He  robbed  the  unhappy  people  of  Sparta ; 
and  all  the  thieves,  murderers,  and  outlaws  of  the 
country  round  were  taken  into  his  service,  and  par- 
ties of  them  sent  out  to  collect  plunder  all  over  the 
Peloponnesus.  At  last  one  of  his  grooms  ran  away 
with  some  horses,  and  took  refuge  at  Megalopolis, 
and  this  Nabis  made  a  cause  for  attacking  both 
that  city  and  Messenia;  but  at  last  Philopoemen 
was  made  general  of  the  Achaian  League,  and  gave 
the  wretch  such  a  defeat  as  forced  him  to  keep  at 
home,  while  Philopoemen  ravaged  Laconia. 

Philip  of  Macedon  offered  to  come   and   drive 
out  Nabis  if  the  Achaians  would  help  him,  but  they 


364  Young  Folks'  History  of  Grreece. 

distrusted  him,  and  did  not  choose  to  go  to  war 
with  the  Romans,  whom  the  robber  iEtolians  had 
called  from  Italy  to  assist  them.  However,  Philip 
reduced  Nabis  to  make  all  kinds  of  promises  and 
treaties,  which,  of  course,  he  did  not  keep,  but 
invited  in  the  iEtolians  to  assist  him.  This,  how- 
ever, brought  his  punishment  on  him,  for  soon  after 
their  arrival  these  allies  of  his  murdered  him,  and 
began  to  rob  all  Laconia.  Philopcemen  and  his 
Achaians  at  once  marched  into  the  country,  helped 
the  Spartans  to  deliver  themselves  from  the  robbers, 
and  persuaded  them  to  join  the  League.  They 
were  so  much  pleased  with  him  that  they  resolved 
to  give  him  Nabis'  palace  and  treasure,  but  he  was 
known  to  hate  bribes  so  much  that  nobody  could 
at  first  be  found  to  make  him  the  offer.  One  man 
was  sent  to  Megalopolis,  but  when  he  saw  Philo- 
pcemen's  plain,  grave,  hardy  life,  and  heard  how 
much  he  disapproved  of  sloth  and  luxury,  he  did 
not  venture  to  say  a  word  about  the  palace  full  of 
Eastern  magnificence,  but  went  back  to  Sparta. 
He  was  sent  again,  and  still  found  no  opportunity ; 
and  when,  the  third  time,  he  did  speak,  Philo- 
pcemen thanked  the  Spartans,  but  said  he  advised 
them  not  to  spend  their  riches  on  spoiling  honest 
men,  whose  help  they  might  have  at  no  cost  at  all, 


Philopoemen,  the  Last  of  the    Greeks.       365 

but  rather  to  use  them  in  buying  over  those  who 
made  mischief  among  them. 

Wars  were  going  on  at  this  time  between  Philip 
of  Macedon,  on  the  one  side,  and  the  ^Etolians  on 
the  other.  Philip's  ally  was  Antiochus  the  Great, 
the  Greek  king  of  Syria ;  the  iEtolians  had  called 
in  the  Romans,  that  great,  conquering  Italian  na- 
tion, whose  plan  was  always  to  take  the  part  of 
some  small  nation  against  a  more  powerful  one, 
break  the  strength  of  both,  and  then  join  them  to 
their  own  empire.  But  the  Achaians  did  not  know 
this,  and  wished  them  well,  while  they  defeated  the 
Macedonians  at  the  great  battle  of  Cynocephalse,  or 
the  Dog's  Head  Rocks,  in  Thessaly.  Philip  was 
obliged  to  make  peace,  and  one  condition  required 
of  him  was  that  he  should  give  up  all  claims  to 
power  over  Greece.  Then  at  Corinth,  at  the  Isth- 
mian games,  the  Roman  consul,  Quintius  Flaminius, 
proclaimed  that  the  Greek  states  were  once  more 
free.  Such  a  shout  of  joy  was  raised  that  it  is  said 
that  birds  flying  in  the  air  overhead  dropped  down 
with  the  shock,  and  Flaminius  was  almost  stifled 
by  the  crowds  of  grateful  Greeks  who  came  round 
him  to  cover  him  with  garlands  and  kiss  his  hands. 

But,  after  all,  the  Romans  meant  to  keep  a  hold 
on  Greece,  though  they  left  the  cities  to  themselves 


366  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

for  a  little  while.  The  Spartans  who  had  been 
banished  by  Nabis  had  not  returned  home,  but 
lived  a  life  of  robbery,  which  was  thought  to  be 
favored  by  Philopcemen,  and  this  offended  those  at 
home,  some  of  whom  plundered  a  town  called  Las. 
The  Achaians  demanded  that  the  guilty  should  be 
given  up  to  them  for  punishment,  and  a  war  began, 
which  ended  by  a  savage  attack  on  Sparta,  in  which 
Philopcemen  forgot  all  but  the  old  enmity  between 
Achaia  and  Laconia,  put  ninety  citizens  to  death, 
pulled  down  the  walls,  besides  abolishing  the  laws 
of  Lycurgus,  which,  however,  nobody  had  observed 
since  the  fall  of  Cleomenes.  Many  citizens  were 
sent  into  banishment,  and  these  went  to  Rome  to 
complain  of  the  Achaians.  While  they  were  gone 
the  Messenians  rose  against  the  League,  while 
Philopcemen  was  lying  sick  of  a  fever  at  Argos ; 
but  though  he  was  ill,  and  seventy  years  old,  he 
collected  a  small  troop  of  Megalopolitan  horsemen, 
to  join  the  main  army  with  them.  But  he  met  the 
full  force  of  the  Messenians,  and  while  fighting 
bravely  to  shelter  his  young  followers,  received  a 
blow  on  the  head  which  stunned  him,  so  that  he 
was  made  prisoner,  and  carried  to  Messene.  There 
his  enemies  showed  him  in  the  theatre,  but  the 
people  only  recollected  how  noble  he  was,  and  how 


Philopcemen,  the  Last  of  the   Greeks*       S67 

he  had  defended  all  Greece  from  Nabis.  So  his 
enemies  hurried  him  away,  and  put  him  in  an  un- 
derground dungeon,  where,  at  night,  they  sent  an 
executioner  to  carry  him  a  dose  of  poison.  Philo- 
poemen  raised  himself  with  difficulty,  for  he  was 
very  weak,  and  asked  the  man  whether  he  could 
tell  him  what  had  become  of  his  young  Megalopol- 
itan  friends.  The  man  replied  that  he  thought 
they  had  most  of  them  escaped.  "  You  bring  good 
news,"  said  Philopoemen ;  then,  swallowing  the 
draught,  he  laid  himself  on  his  back,  and  almost  in- 
stantly died.  He  is  called  the  Last  of  the  Greeks, 
for  there  never  was  a  great  man  of  the  old  sort 
after  him. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

THE     TALL     OF     GREECE. 
B.C.  189—146. 

AFTER  the  death  of  Philopcemen  there  was 
little  real  spirit  left  in  the  Achaians,  and 
Callicrates,  who  became  the  leading  man  among 
them,  led  them  to  submit  themselves  to  the  senate 
of  Rome,  and  do  as  it  pleased  with  regard  to  Sparta 
and  Messene. 

Philip  of  Macedon  was  at  war  with  Rome  all  his 
life,  and  his  son  Perseus  went  on  with  it.  Marcus 
Paullus  ^Emilius,  one  of  the  best  and  bravest  of  the 
Romans,  was  sent  to  subdue  him,  and  the  great 
battle  was  fought  in  188,  at  Pydna,  near  Mount 
Olympus.  The  night  before  the  battle  there  was 
an  eclipse  of  the  moon,  which  greatly  terrified  the 
Macedonians  ;  but  the  Romans  had  among  them  an 
officer  who  knew  enough  of  the  heavenly  bodies  to 


The  Fall  of  Greece.  369 

have  told  the  soldiers  of  it  beforehand,  and  its  cause. 
The  Macedonians  being  thus  discouraged,  gave 
way,  and  fled  as  soon  as  the  battle  seemed  to  be 
going  against  them ;  and  Perseus  himself  galloped 
from  the  field  to  Pella,  where  he  was  so  beside  him- 
self with  despair  that  he  stabbed  two  of  his  coun- 
selors who  tried  to  show  him  the  mistakes  he  had 
made.  But  as  iEmilius  advanced,  he  was  forced  to 
retreat  before  him,  even  into  the  island  of  Samo- 
thrace,  which  was  sacred  soil,  whence  he  could  not 
be  taken  by  force.  The  Romans  watched  all 
round  the  island,  and  he  dreaded  that  the  Samo- 
thracians  should  give  him  up  to  them;  so  he 
bargained  with  a  Cretan  shipmaster  to  take  him 
and  all  his  treasure  on  board  his  ship,  and  carry 
him  off  at  night.  The  Cretan  received  half  the 
treasure,  and  Perseus  crept  out  at  a  small  window, 
crossed  a  garden,  and  reached  the  wharf,  where,  to 
his  horror,  he  found  that  the  treacherous  captain 
had  sailed  off  with  the  treasure,  and  left  him  be- 
hind. 

There  was  nothing  for  him  to  do  but  to  yield  to 
the  Romans.  He  came  into  the  camp  in  mourning, 
and  ^Emilius  gave  him  Ms  hand  and  received  him 
kindly,  but  kept  him  a  prisoner,  and  formed  Mace- 
don  into   a   province   under   Roman   government. 


370  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

jEmilius  himself  went  on  a  journey  through  the 
most  famous  Greek  cities,  especially  admiring 
Athens,  and  looking  at  the  places  made  famous  by 
historians,  poets,  and  philosophers.  He  took  Poly- 
bius,  a  learned  Athenian  philosopher,  who  wrote 
the  history  of  this  war,  to  act  as  tutor  to  his  two 
sons,  though  both  were  young  men  able  to  fight  in 
this  campaign,  and  from  that  time  forward  the 
Romans  were  glad  to  have  Greek  teachers  for 
their  sons,  and  Greek  was  spoken  by  them  as  freely 
and  easily  as  their  own  Latin ;  every  well-educated 
man  knew  the  chief  Greek  poets  by  heart,  and  was 
of  some  school  of  philosophy,  either  Stoic  or  Epi- 
curean, but  the  best  men  were  generally  Stoics. 
Perseus  and  his  two  young  sons  were  taken  to 
Rome,  there,  according  to  the  Roman  fashion,  to 
march  in  the  triumph  of  the  conqueror,  namely,  the 
procession  in  which  the  general  returned  home  with 
all  Ins  troops.  It  was  a  shame  much  feared  by  the 
conquered  princes,  and  the  cruel  old  rule  was  that 
they  should  be  put  to  death  at  the  close  of  the 
march.  Paullus  ^Emilius  was,  however,  a  man  of 
kind  temper,  and  had  promised  Perseus  to  spare  his 
life.  The  unfortunate  king  begged  to  be  spared 
the  humiliation  of  walking  in  the  triumph,  but 
^Emilius  could  not  disappoint  the  Roman  people, 


The  Fall  of  Greece,  371 

and  answered  that  M  the  favor  was  in  Persens'  own 
power,"  meaning,  since  he  knew  no  better,  that  to 
die  should  prevent  what  was  so  much  dreaded. 
Perseus,  however,  did  not  take  the  counsel,  but 
lived  in  an  Italian  city  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 

After  Macedon  was  ruined  the  Romans  resolved 
to  put  down  all  stirrings  of  resistance  to  them  in 
the  rest  of  Greece.  Their  friend  Callicrates,  there- 
fore, accused  all  the  Achaians  who  had  been 
friendly  to  Perseus,  or  who  had  any  brave  spirit  — 
1000  in  number  —  of  conspiring  against  Rome,  and 
called  on  the  League  to  sentence  them  to  death ; 
but  as  this  proposal  was  heard  with  horror,  they 
were  sent  to  Rome  to  justify  themselves,  and  the 
Roman  senate,  choosing  to  suppose  they  had  been 
judged  by  the  League,  sentenced  them  never  to  re- 
turn to  Achaia.  Polybius  was  among  them,  so  that 
his  home  was  thenceforth  in  the  house  of  his  pupils, 
the  sons  of  JEmilius.  Many  times  did  the  Achaians 
send  entreaties  that  they  might  be  set  at  liberty, 
and  at  last,  after  seventeen  years,  Polybius'  pupils 
persuaded  the  great  senator  Cato  to  speak  for  them, 
and  he  did  so,  but  in  a  very  rough,  unfeeling  way. 
'•  Anyone  who  saw  us  disputing  whether  a  set  of 
poor  old  Greeks  should  be  buried  by  our  grave- 
diggers  or  their  own  would  think  we  had  nothing 


372  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

else  to  do,"  he  said.  So  the  Romans  consented  to 
their  going  home ;  but  when  they  asked  to  have  all 
their  rank  and  honors  restored  to  them,  Cato  said, 
"Polybius,  you  are  less  wise  than  Ulysses.  You 
want  to  go  back  into  the  Cyclops'  cave  for  the 
wretched  rags  and  tatters  you  left  behind  you 
there."  After  all,  Polybius  either  did  not  go  home 
or  did  not  stay  there,  for  he  was  soon  again  with  his 
beloved  pupils ;  and  in  the  seventeen  years  of  exile 
the  1000  had  so  melted  away  that  only  300  went 
home  again. 

But  the  very  year  after  their  return  a  fresh 
rising  was  made  by  the  Macedonians,  under  a 
pretender  who  claimed  to  be  the  son  of  Perseus, 
and  by  the  Peloponnesians,  with  the  Achaians  and 
Spartans  at  their  head,  while  the  Corinthians  in- 
sulted the  Roman  ambassadors.  A  Roman  general 
named  Quintus  Metellus  was  sent  to  subdue  them, 
and  routed  the  Macedonians  at  the  battle  of  Scar- 
phaea,  but  after  that  another  general  named  Mum- 
mius  was  sent  out.  The  Achaians  had  collected  all 
their  strength  against  him,  and  in  the  first  skirmish 
gained  a  little  success ;  and  this  encouraged  them 
to  risk  a  battle,  in  which  they  were  so  confident 
of  victory  that  they  placed  their  wives  and  children 
on  a  hill  to  watch  them,  and  provided  wagons  to 


The  Fall  of  Greece.  373 

carry  away  the  spoil.  The  battle  was  fought  at 
Leucoptera,  near  the  Isthmus,  and  all  this  boasting 
was  soon  turned  into  a  miserable  defeat.  Diseus, 
who  commanded  the  Greeks,  was  put  to  flight,  and 
riding  off  to  Megalopolis  in  utter  despair,  he  killed 
his  wife  and  children,  to  prevent  their  falling  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  then  poisoned  himself. 
The  other  Achaians  at  first  retreated  into  Cor- 
inth, and  in  the  course  of  the  night  scattered 
themselves  each  to  his  own  city.  In  the  morning 
Mummius  marched  in  and  gave  up  the  unhappy 
city  to  plunder.  All  the  men  were  slain,  all  the 
women  and  children  taken  for  slaves,  and  when  all 
the  statues,  pictures,  and  jewels  had  been  gathered 
out  of  the  temples  and  houses,  the  place  was  set  on 
fire,  and  burnt  unceasingly  for  several  days ;  the 
walls  were  pulled  down,  and  the  city  blotted  out 
from  Greece.  There  was  so  much  metal  of  all 
kinds  in  the  burning  houses  that  it  all  became  fused 
together,  and  produced  a  new  and  valuable  metal 
called  Corinthian  brass.  The  Romans  were  at  this 
time  still  very  rude  and  ignorant,  and  did  not  at 
all  understand  the  value  and  beauty  of  the  works 
of  art  they  carried  off.  Polybius  saw  two  soldiers 
making  a  dice-board  of  one  of  the  most  famous 
pictures   in    Greece ;    and    Mummius   was    much 


374  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

laughed  at  for  telling  the  captains  of  the  ships  who 
took  home  some  of  the  statues  to  exhibit  in  his 
triumph  that  if  they  lost  them  they  should  supply 
new  ones  at  their  own  cost.  The  Corinthians 
suffered  thus  for  having  insulted  the  ambassadors. 
The  other  cities  submitted  without  a  blow,  and 
were  left  untouched  to  govern  themselves,  but  in 
subjection  to  Rome,  and  with  Roman  garrisons  in 
their  citadels.  Polybius  was  sent  round  them  to 
assure  them  of  peace,  and  they  had  it  for  more  than 
500  years,  but  the  freedom  of  Greece  was  gone  for 
ever. 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

THE     GOSPEL     IN     GREECE. 
B.C.  146— A. d.  60. 

AFTER  a  time  Macedon  and  Achaia  were 
made  by  the  Romans  into  provinces,  each  of 
which  had  a  governor  who  had  been  one  year  in  a 
magistrate's  office  at  Rome,  and  then  was  sent  out 
to  rule  in  a  province  for  three  or  for  five  years. 

In  146,  nearly  a  hundred  years  after  the  ruin  of 
Corinth,  Julias  Csesar  built  it  up  again  in  great 
strength  and  beauty,  and  made  it  the  capital  of 
Achaia.  As  it  stood  where  the  Isthmus  was  only 
six  miles  across,  and  had  a  beautiful  harbor  on  each 
side,  travelers  who  did  not  wish  to  go  round  the 
dangerous  headlands  of  the  Peloponnesus  used  to 
land  on  one  side  and  embark  on  the  other.  Thus 
Corinth  became  one  of  the  great  stations  for  troops, 

and  also  a  mart  for  all  kinds  of  merchandise,  and 
375 


376  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

was  always  full  of  strangers,  both  Greeks  and 
Jews. 

The  Romans,  as  conquerors,  had  rights  to  be 
tried  only  by  their  own  magistrates  and  laws,  and 
these  laws  were  generally  just.  They  were,  how- 
ever, very  hard  on  subject  nations ;  and  therefore, 
the  best  thing  that  could  happen  to  a  man  was  to 
be  made  a  Roman  citizen,  and  this  was  always  done 
to  persons  of  rank,  by  way  of  compliment  —  some- 
times to  whole  cities. 

Athens  had  never  had  a  great  statesman  or 
soldier  in  her  since  the  time  of  Phocion,  but  her 
philosophers  and  orators  still  went  on  discoursing 
in  the  schools,  and  for  four  hundred  years  at  least 
Athens  was  a  sort  of  university  town,  where  the 
rich  young  men  from  Rome,  Carthage,  Alexandria, 
Asia  Minor,  and  Syria  came  to  see  the  grand  old 
buildings  and  works  of  art,  and  to  finish  their 
education.  For  though  the  great  men  of  Greece 
were  all  dead,  their  works,  both  in  stone  and  in 
writing,  still  remained,  and  were  the  models  of  all 
the  world,  and  their  language  was  spoken  all  over 
the  East.  The  Romans'  own  tongue,  Latin,  was 
used  at  home,  of  course,  but  every  gentleman  knew 
Greek  equally  well,  and  all  the  Syrians,  Jews,  and 
Egyptians  who  had  much  intercourse  with  them 


The    G-os])el  in   Greece.  377 

used  Greek  as  the  language  sure  to  be  known 
—  much  as  French  is  now  used  all  over  Europe. 

But  there  was  an  answer  coining  to  all  those 
strainings  and  yearnings  after  God  and  His  truth 
which  had  made  those  old  Greek  writings  beautiful. 
There  is  a  story  that  one  night  a  ship's  crew, 
passing  near  a  lonely  island  in  the  ^Egean  Sea, 
sacred  to  the  gods,  heard  a  great  wailing  and  crying 
aloud  of  spirit  voices,  exclaiming,  "  Great  Pan  is 
dead." 

Pan  was  the  heathen  god  of  nature,  to  whom 
sacred  places  were  dedicated,  and  this  strange 
crying  was  at  the  very  night  after  a  day  when,  far 
away  in  Judsea,  the  sun  had  been  darkened  at  noon, 
and  the  rocks  were  rent,  and  One  who  was  dying 
on  a  cross  had  said,  "It  is  finished."  For  the 
victory  over  Satan  and  all  his  spirits  was  won  by 
death. 

Some  fifteen  years  later  than  that  day,  as  Paul,  a 
Jew  of  Tarsus,  in  Asia  Minor,  with  the  right  of 
Roman  citizenship,  and  a  Greek  education,  was 
spreading  the  knowledge  of  that  victory  over  the 
East — while  he  slept  at  the  new  Troy  built  by 
Alexander,  there  stood  by  his  bed,  in  a  vision  by 
night,  a  man  of  Macedon,  saying,  "  Come  over  and 
help  us." 


378  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

He  went,  knowing  that  the  call  came  from  God, 
and  the  cities  of  Macedon  gained  quite  new  honors. 
Philippi,  where  he  was  first  received,  had  a  small 
number  of  Jews  in  it,  to  whom  he  spake  by  the 
river  side,  but  many  Greeks  soon  began  to  listen  ; 
and  then  it  was  that  the  evil  spirits,  who  spake 
aloud  to  men  in  heathen  lands,  first  had  to  own 
the  power  of  Christ,  who  had  conquered.  A  slave 
girl,  who  had  long  been  possessed  by  one  of  these 
demons,  was  forced  at  the  sight  of  Paul  and  his 
companion  Silas  to  cry  aloud,  "  These  men  are  the 
servants  of  the  Most  High  God,  which  show  unto 
us  the  way  of  salvation."  She  followed  them 
about  for  some  days  doing  this,  until  Paul,  grieved 
in  tlie  spirit,  bade  the  evil  one,  in  Jesus'  name,  to 
leave  her.  At  once  the  name  of  the  Conqueror 
caused  the  demon  to  depart ;  but  the  owner  of  the 
slave  girl,  enraged  at  the  loss  of  her  soothsaying 
powers,  accused  the  Apostle  and  his  friend  to  the 
magistrates,  and,  without  examination,  they  were 
thrown  into  prison.  At  night,  while  they  sang 
praise  in  the  dungeon,  an  earthquake  shook  it ;  the 
doors  were  open,  the  fetters  loosed,  and  the  jailer, 
thinking  them  fled,  would  have  killed  himself,  but 
for  Paul's  call  to  him  that  all  were  safe.  He  heard 
the  Word  of  life  that  night,  and  was  baptized;  but 


The   G-ospel  in   Greece.  379 

St.  Paul  would  not  leave  the  prison,  either  then  or 
at  the  permission  of  the  magistrates,  when  they 
found  they  had  exceeded  their  powers,  but  insisted 
that  they  should  come  themselves  to  fetch  him  out, 
thus  marking  his  liberty  as  a  Roman,  so  that  others 
might  fear  to  touch  him.  He  had  founded  a  church 
at  Philippi,  in  which  he  always  found  great  comfort 
and  joy  ;  and  when  he  was  forced  to  go  on  to  Thes- 
salonica,  he  found  many  willing  and  eager  hearers 
among  the  Greeks ;  but  the  Jews,  enraged  at  his 
teaching  these,  stirred  up  a  mob,  and  not  only 
forced  him  to  leave  that  city,  but  hunted  him 
wherever  he  tried  to  stop  in  Macedon,  so  that  he 
was  obliged  to  hurry  into  the  next  province, 
Achaia,  and  wait  at  Athens  for  the  companions 
whom  he  had  left  to  go  on  with  his  work  at 
Philippi  and  Thessalonica.  V- 

While  at  Athens,  the  multitude  of  altars  and 
temples,  and  the  devotion  paid  to  them,  stirred  his 
spirit,  so  that  he  could  not  but  speak  out  plainly, 
and  point  to  the  truth.  It  seemed  a  new  philoso- 
phy to  the  talkers  and  inquirers,  who  had  talked  to 
shreds  the  old  arguments  of  Plato  and  Epicurus, 
and  longed  for  some  fresh  light  or  new  interest ; 
and  he  was  invited  to  Areopagus  to  set  forth  his 
doctrine.     There,  in  the  face  of  the  Parthenon  and 


380  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

the  Acropolis,  with  philosophers  and  students  from 
all  parts  of  the  empire  around,  he  made  one  of  his 
greatest  and  noblest  speeches  —  "  Ye  men  of  Athens, 
I  perceive  that  in  all  tilings  ye  are  greatly  religious. 
For  as  I  passed  through  your  city,  and  beheld  how 
ye  worship,  I  found  an  altar  with  this  inscription 
—  'To  the  unknown  God.'  Whom,  therefore, 
ye  ignorantly  worship ;  Him  declare  I  unto  you." 

Then,  looking  forth  on  the  temples  crowded  on 
the  rocks,  he  tried  to  open  their  minds  to  the  truth 
that  the  God  of  all  dwells  in  no  temples  made  with 
hands,  that  all  men  alike  are  His  children,  and  that, 
since  living,  breathing,  thinking  man  has  sprung 
from  Him,  it  is  lowering  His  greatness  to  represent 
Him  by  cold,  dead,  senseless  stone,  metal,  or  ivory. 
"  He  bore  with  the  times  of  ignorance,"  said  Paul ; 
wkbut  now  He  called  on  all  men  to  turn  to  Him  to 
prepare  for  the  day  when  all  should  be  judged,  by 
the  Man  whom  He  had  ordained  for  the  purpose, 
as  had  been  shown  by  His  rising  from  the  dead." 

The  Greeks  had  listened  to  the  proclamation  of 
one  great  unseen  God,  higher  than  art  could  repre- 
sent ;  but  when  Paul  spoke  of  rising  from  the  dead, 
they  burst  into  mockery.  They  had  believed  in 
spirits  living,  but  not  in  bodies  rising  again,  and  the 
philosophers  would  not  listen.     Very  few  converts 


The   Grospel  in  Greece,  381 

were  made  in  Athens,  only  Dionysius,  and  a  woman 
named  Damaris,  and  a  few  more ;  and  the  city  of 
learning  long  closed  her  ears  against  those  who 
would  have  taught  her  what  Socrates  and  Plato  had 
been  feeling  after  like  men  in  the  dark. 

At  the  merchant  city  of  Corinth,  Paul  had 
greater  success ;  he  stayed  there  nearly  two  years, 
and  from  thence  sent  letters  to  the  Thessalonians, 
who  were  neglecting  their  daily  duties,  expecting 
that  our  Lord  was  about  immediately  to  return. 
After  Paul  had  left  Corinth,  he  wrote  to  that  city 
also,  first  to  correct  certain  evils  that  had  arisen  in 
the  Church  there,  and  afterwards  to  encourage 
those  who  had  repented,  and  promise  another  visit. 
This  visit,  as  well  as  one  to  his  Macedonian 
churches,  was  paid  in  his  third  journey ;  and  when 
he  had  been  arrested  at  Jerusalem,  and  was  in 
Rome  awaiting  his  trial  before  the  emperor,  Nero, 
he  wrote  to  his  friends  at  Philippi  what  is  called  the 
Epistle  of  Joy,  so  bright  were  his  hopes  of  his 
friends  there. 

St.  Andrew  also  labored  in  Greece,  and  was  put 
to  death  in  Achaia,  by  being  fastened  to  a  cross  of 
olive-wood,  shaped  like  an  X,  where  he  hung 
exhorting  the  people  for  three  days  before  he  died. 
When   St.    Paul  was  released,    he  and  the  great 


382 


Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 


evangelist  St.  John,  and  such  of  the  apostles  as  still 
survived,  set  the  Church  in  order,  appointed  bishops 
over  their  cities,  and  Dionysius  of  Athens  became 
Bishop  of  Corinth,  and  St.  Paul's  pupil  from 
Antioch,  Titus,  was  Bishop  of  Crete,  and  received 
an  epistle  from  Paul  on  the  duties  of  his  office.  In 
process  of  time  Christianity  won  its  way,  and  the 
oracles  became  silent,  as  the  demons  which  spoke 
in  them  fled  from  the  Name  of  Jesus. 


CHAPTER    XL. 

UNDER  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE. 

FOR  three  hundred  years  Rome  reigned  over 
all  the  countries  round  the  Mediterranean, 
with  one  emperor  at  her  head,  and  the  magistrates 
of  his  appointment  to  rule  in  all  the  provinces, 
while  garrisons  were  placed  to  quell  risings  of  the 
people,  or  to  keep  in  order  the  wild  tribes  on  any 
dangerous  border.  For  a  long  course  of  years 
Greece  was  quiet,  and  had  no  need  of  such  troops. 
The  people  of  her  cities  were  allowed  to  manage 
their  own  affairs  enough  to  satisfy  them  and  make 
them  contented,  though  they  had  lost  all  but  such 
freedom  as  they  could  have  by  being  enrolled  as  cit- 
izens of  Rome,  and  they  were  too  near  the  heart 
of  the  empire  to  be  in  danger  from  barbarous 
neighbors,  so  that  they  did  not  often  have  troops 

383 


384  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

among  them,  except  those  passing  through  Corinth 
to  the  East. 

Towards  the  end  of  these  three  hundred  years, 
however,  Thrace  and  Thessaly  began  to  be  threat- 
ened by  wild  nations  who  came  from  the  banks  of 
the  Danube,  and  robbed  the  rich  villages  and  coun- 


THE   FORUM   AT  KOME. 


tries  to  the  south.  The  empire  was,  in  truth,  grow- 
ing weaker,  and  enemies  began  to  press  upon  it ; 
and  this  made  the  emperor,  Diocletian,  decide 
that  it  was  beyond  the  power  of  any  one  man  to 
rule  and  defend  it  all,  and.  he  therefore  divided  it 
with  his  friend  Maximian,  whom  he  made  Emperor 


Under  the  Roman  Empire.  385 

of  the  East,  while  he  remained  Emperor  of  the 
West.  The  Western  empire  was  the  Latin-speaking 
half,  and  the  Eastern  the  Greek-speaking  half,  of 
these  lands,  though  both  still  called  themselves 
Roman. 

The  two  halves  were  joined  together  again,  about 
the  year  300,  under  Constantine  the  Great,  who  was 
the  first  Christian  emperor.  He  thought  he  should 
be  more  in  the  middle  of  his  government  if  he 
moved  his  capital  from  Rome  to  the  old  Greek  city 
of  Byzantium,  which  he  adorned  with  most  splen- 
did buildings,  and  called  after  his  own  name  Con- 
stantinople ;  and  this  became  the  capital  of  the 
East,  as  Rome  was  of  the  West.  Athens  remained 
all  this  time  the  place  of  study  for  Christians  as 
well  as  heathens,  and  people  still  talked  philosophy 
and  studied  eloquence  among  the  laurel  and  myrtle 
groves,  and  looked  at  the  temples,  which  still  stood 
there,  though  hardly  anyone  frequented  them.  One 
emperor,  Julian,  the  cousin  of  Constantine,  studied 
there  as  a  youth,  and  became  so  fond  of  the  old 
philosophy  and  learning,  and  so  admired  the  noble 
ways  of  the  times  when  men  were  seeking  after 
truth,  that  he  thought  Greece  and  Rome  would  be 
great  again  if  they  turned  back  to  these  heathen 


386  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

ways,  not  seeing  that  this  was  going  back  to  the 
dark  out  of  which  those  men  had  been  struggling. 

Julian  tried  to  bring  back  heathen  customs,  and 
to  have  the  old  gods  worshiped  again  ;  but  he  was 
killed  in  an  expedition  against  the  Persians,  and 
soon  after  his  time  the  old  idol-worship  was  quite 
forgotten.  Every  city  had  a  Bishop  and  Clergy, 
and  the  Bishops  of  each  division  of  the  empire  were 
under  a  great  ruling  Bishop,  who  was  called  a 
Patriarch.  Greece  was  under  the  Patriarch  of  Con- 
stantinople. The  Greek  churches  were  made  as 
like  the  pattern  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  as  they 
could  be.  The  end  which  represented  the  Holy  of 
Holies,  and  had  the  altar  in  it,  was  veiled,  and  en- 
closed within  what  were  called  the  Royal  Gates, 
and  these  were  only  opened  at  times  of  celebrating 
the  Holy  Communion.  This  end  was  raised  on  steps, 
and  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  sermon  were  spoken 
to  the  people  from  the  front  of  the  Royal  Gates. 
The  pavement  was  of  rich  marble,  and  the  ceiling, 
which  was  generally  vaulted,  was  inlaid  with 
colored  stones,  making  pictures  in  what  is  called 
Mosaic,  because  thus  the  stones  were  set  by  Moses 
in  the  High  Priest's  vestment.  The  clergy  wore 
robes  like  those  of  the  priests,  and  generally  had 
flowing  hair  and  beards,  though  in  front  the  hair 


Under  the  Roman  Empire.  387 

was  cut  in  a  circlet,  in  memory  of  our  Lord's  crown 
of  thorns. 

Now  that  everyone  had  become  Christian,  and 
bad  or  worldly  people  were  not  afraid  to  belong 
to  the  Church  for  fear  of  persecution,  there 
was  often  sin  and  evil  among  them.  Many  who 
grieved  at  this  shut  themselves  up  from  the  world 
in  the  most  lonely  places  they  could  find  —  little 
islands,  deep  woods,  mountain  tops,  or  rocks,  and 
the  like.  When  they  lived  alone  they  were  called 
hermits,  when  there  were  many  together  they  were 
called  monks,  and  the  women  who  thus  lived  were 
nuns.  Many  such  monasteries  were  in  Greece,  es- 
pecially one  upon  Mount  Athos  —  that  peninsula 
that  Xerxes  tried  to  cut  off  —  and  most  of  these 
have  continued  even  to  our  own  time. 

The  emperor  Theodosius,  who  reigned  at  the  end 
of  this  fourth  century  over  both  East  and  West. 
was  a  very  good  man,  and  during  his  reign  the 
Greek  lands  were  kept  from  the  marauders.  In 
his  time,  however,  the  Thessalonians  brought  a 
most  dreadful  punishment  on  themselves.  For 
want  of  public  business,  or  any  real  and  noble  in- 
terest, the  people  had  come  to  care  for  nothing  but 
games  and  races,  and  they  loved  these  sports  with 
a  sort   of  passionate   fury.     There  was  a  chariot- 


388  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

driver  at  Thessalonica  who  was  a  wicked  man,  but 
whose  racing  was  so  much  admired  that  when,  for 
some  crime,  Botheric,  the  governor,  put  him  in 
prison  and  hindered  his  performance,  the  mob  rose, 
when  they  missed  him  in  the  amphitheatre,  and 
threw  stones  at  the  governor  and  his  officers,  so 
that  several  were  killed,  and  Botheric  among  them. 
The  news  was  taken  to  the  emperor,  and  in  great 
wrath  he  ordered  that  the  Thessalonians  should  be 
punished.  The  order  was  given  to  a  cruel,  savage 
man,  who  hurried  off  at  once,  lest  the  emperor 
should  relent  and  stop  him.  He  invited  the  Thes- 
salonians to  meet  him  in  the  amphitheatre,  and 
when  they  were  there,  expecting  to  hear  some  mes- 
sage, he  had  all  the  doors  closed,  and  sent  in  his 
soldiers,  who  killed  them  all,  innocent  as  well  as 
guilty,  even  strangers  who  had  only  just  come  to 
the  place. 

Theodosius  was  much  shocked  to  find  how  his 
passionate  words  had  been  obeyed,  and  the  good 
Bishop  of  Milan,  St.  Ambrose,  made  him  wait  as  a 
penitent,  cut  off  from  the  Holy  Communion,  while 
he  was  thus  stained  with  blood,  until  after  many 
months  his  repentance  could  be  accepted,  and  he 
could  be  forgiven. 

After  Theodosius  died,  the  Western  half  of  the 


Under  the  Roman  Empire.  "  389 

empire  was  overrun  and  conquered  by  tribes  of 
German  nations,  but  the  Eastern  part  still  remained, 
and  emperor  after  emperor  reigned  at  Constantino- 
ple, ruling  over  the  Greek  cities  as  before  ;  but 
there  were  savage  tribes  of  the  Slavonian  race  who 
settled  in  Thrace,  and  spread  over  Thessaly.  They 
were  called  Bulgarians,  and  used  to  send  marauders 
all  over  the  country  to  the  south,  so  that  they  were 
much  dreaded  by  the  Greeks,  who  had  long  for- 
gotten how  to  fight  for  themselves. 

But  though  the  Eastern  and  Western  empires 
were  broken  apart,  the  Church  was  one.  The 
Greeks,  indeed,  found  fault  with  the  Romans  for 
putting  three  words  into  the  Creed  of  Nicea  which 
had  not  been  decided  on  by  the  consent  of  the 
whole  Church  in  Council,  and  there  was  a  question 
between  the  Pope  of  Rome  and  the  Patriarch  of 
Constantinople  as  to  which  had  the  chief  rule.  At 
last  their  disputes  in  the  eleventh  century  caused 
a  schism,  or  ruling  apart,  and  the  Greek  Church 
became  separated  from  the  Roman  Church. 


CHAPTER    XLL 

THE   FRANK   CONQUEST. 
1201—1446. 

r  I  ^HERE  is  very  little  to  tell  about  Greece  for 
-*■  hundreds  of  years.  It  was  a  part  of  the 
Eastern  Empire,  and  was  for  the  most  part  in  a 
quiet  state,  except  when  robbers  came  against  it. 
The  Bulgarians  came  from  the  North,  but  after  they 
had  become  Christian  they  were  somewhat  less 
dangerous.  From  the  East  and  South  came  Sara- 
cens and  Moors,  who  had  been  converted  to  the 
faith  of  the  false  Arabian  prophet  Mahommed ;  and 
from  the  West  came  the  Northmen,  all  the  way 
from  Norway  and  Denmark,  to  rob  the  very  east 
end  of  the  Mediterranean,  so  that  beautiful  old 
ornaments,  evidently  made  in.  Greece,  have  been 
found  in  the  northern  homes  that  once  belonged  to 
these  sea-kings. 

390 


The  Frank   Conquest.  391 

The  Greeks  had  little  spirit  to  fight,  and  the  em- 
perors took  some  of  these  stout  Northmen  into  their 
pay  against  the  Bulgarians  and  Saracens,  calling 
them  the  Varangian  Guard.  Another  band,  of 
northern  blood,  though  they  had  been  settled  in 
Normandy  for  two  generations,  came,  and  after 
driving  out  the  Saracens  from  Sicily  and  Southern 
Italy,  set  up  two  little  kingdoms  there.  Robert 
Guiscard,  or  the  Wizard,  the  first  and  cleverest  of 
these  Norman  kings,  had  a  great  wish  to  gain 
Greece  also,  and  had  many  fights  with  the  troops 
of  the  Emperor  of  the  East,  Alexis  Comnenus. 
Their  quarrels  with  him  made  the  Greeks  angry 
and  terrified  when  all  the  bravest  men  of  the  West 
wanted  to  come  through  their  lands  on  the  Crusade, 
or  Holy  War,  to  deliver  Jerusalem  from  the  Sara- 
cens. Then,  since  the  schism  between  the  Churches, 
the  Greeks  and  the  Latins  had  learnt  scarcely  to 
think  of  one  another  as  Christians  at  all,  and  cer- 
tainly they  did  not  behave  to  one  another  like 
Christians,  for  the  Greeks  cunningly  robbed,  har- 
assed, and  deceived  the  Latins,  and  the  Latins 
were  harsh,  rude  and  violent  with  the  Greeks. 

In  the  northern  point  of  the  Adriatic  Sea  lay  the 
city  of  Venice,  built  upon  a  cluster  of  little  islands. 
The  people  had  taken  refuge  there  when  Italy  was 


392  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

overrun  by  the  barbarians.  In  course  of  time  these 
Venetians  had  grown  to  be  a  mighty  and  powerful 
people,  whose  merchant  ships  traded  all  over  the 
Mediterranean,  and  whose  counselors  were  famed 
for  wisdom.  They  had  shaken  off  the  power  of  the 
Greek  emperor,  and  were  governed  by  a  senate  and 
council,  with  a  chosen  nobleman  at  its  head,  who 
was  called  the  Doge,  or  Duke.  Just  when  the 
French,  Germans,  and  Italians  were  setting  off  on 
the  Fourth  Crusade,  in  the  year  1201,  meaning  to 
sail  in  Venetian  ships,  the  young  Alexius  Angelus, 
son  to  the  emperor  Isaac  Angelus,  came  to  beg  for 
help  for  his  poor  old  father,  who  had  been  thrown 
into  prison  by  his  own  brother,  with  his  eyes  put 
out.  It  was  quite  aside  from  the  main  work  of  the 
Crusade,  but  the  Venetians  had  always  had  a  quar- 
rel with  the  Greek  emperors,  and  they  prevailed  to 
turn  the  army  aside  to  attack  Constantinople. 
With  an  immense  pair  of  shears  they  cut  in  twain 
the  great  chains  which  shut  in  the  harbor  of  the 
Golden  Horn,  and  sailed  safely  in,  led  by  their 
Doge,  Dandolo,  who,  though  eighty  years  old,  and 
blind,  was  as  keen  on  the  battle  as  the  youngest 
man  there. 

The  French  scaled  the  walls,  the  usurper  fled, 
and  blind  old  Isaac  was  led  out  of  his  dungeon,  and 


The  Frank   Conquest.  393 

dressed  in  his  robes  again ;  his  son  was  crowned 
with  him,  and  they  did  everything  to  please  the 
Crusaders.  Chiefly  they  made  the  Patriarch  of 
Constantinople  consent  to  give  up  all  the  differ- 
ences with  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  own 
the  Pope  as  superior  to  him.  This  made  the  Greeks 
angry,  and  they  could  not  bear  to  see  their  young 
emperor  so  familiar  with  the  French  knights,  whom 
they  looked  on  as  barbarians.  One  day  he  was 
seen  with  a  Frenchman's  cap  on  his  head,  and  his 
own  crown  lying  on  the  ground  at  his  feet.  In 
great  anger  the  people  of  Constantinople  rose,  under 
a  man  named  Alexius  Ducas,  called  "  Black-brows," 
murdered  the  two  emperors,  and  set  up  this  new 
one ;  but  he  did  not  reign  long,  for  the  French  and 
Venetians  were  close  at  hand.  There  was  a  second 
siege,  and  when  the  city  was  taken,  they  plundered 
it  throughout,  stripped  it  of  all  the  wealth  they 
could  collect,  and  set  up  Baldwin,  Count  of  Flan- 
ders, to  be  emperor,  with  a  Latin  Patriarch  ;  while 
the  Venetians  helped  themselves  to  all  the  southern 
part  of  the  empire,  namely,  the  Peloponnesus  and 
the  Greek  islands  ;  and  a  French  nobleman  named 
Walter  de  Brienne  was  created  Duke  of  Athens, 
under  the  Flemish  emperor.  A- 

It  was  then  that  so  many  of  the  old  Greek  places 


394  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

took  the  names  we  now  see  them  called  by  in  the 
map,  and  which  were  mostly  given  by  the  Venetian 
seamen.  They  called  the  Peloponnesus  the  Morea, 
or  Mulberry-leaf,  because  it  was  in  that  shape  ;  they 
called  the  island  of  Eubcea,  Negropont,  or  Black- 
bridge  ;  the  iEgean  Sea,  the  Archipelago,  or  Great 
Sea ;  and  the  Euxine,  the  Black  Sea,  because  it  is 
so  dangerous.  The  Greeks  hated  their  new  mas- 
ters very  much,  and  would  not  conform  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  A  new  Greek  empire 
was  set  up  in  Asia  Minor,  at  Nicea  ;  and  after  the 
Latin  emperor  Baldwin  had  been  lost  in  a  battle 
with  the  Bulgarians,  and  great  troubles  swept  away 
his  successors,  the  emperors  returned  to  Constanti- 
nople, under  Michael  Palseologus,  in  1261,  and 
drove  out  all  the  Franks,  as  the  Greeks  called  the 
Western  people,  chiefly  French  and  Italians,  who 
had  come  to  settle  in  their  cities. 

But  the  Venetians  still  held  the  cities  in  the 
greater  part  of  the  Morea,  and  some  of  the  islands, 
and  traded  all  over  the  East  and  West,  though 
their  Greek  subjects  were  only  kept  under  by  main 
force,  still  held  to  their  own  Greek  Church,  and 
looked  to  the  Roman  Emperor  of  the  East,  as  they 
called  the  Palseologus  at  Constantinople,  as  their 
head ;   nor  was  it  easy  to  overpower  people  who 


The  Frank   Conquest.  395 

had  so  many  mountain  fastnesses,  nor  to  tame 
monks  whose  convents  were  nests  on  the  top  of 
rocks,  some  so  steep  that  there  was  no  way  of  en- 
tering them  save  being  drawn  up  in  a  basket. 
Well  was  it  for  them  that  they  had  niched  them- 
selves into  such  strongholds,  for  worse  and  worse 
days  were  coming  upon  Greece.  The  terrible  na- 
tion of  Turks  were  making  their  way  out  of  the 
wild  country  north  of  Persia,  and  winning  the  old 
cities  of  Asia  Minor,  where  they  set  up  their  Ma- 
hommedan  dominion,  and  threatened  more  and 
more  to  overthrow  the  Greek  empire  altogether. 

The  emperor,  John  Palseologus,  was  obliged  to 
yield  to  Amurath,  the  Turkish  Sultan,  all  his  lands 
except  Constantinople,  Thessalonica,  and  that  part 
of  the  Morea  which  still  clung  to  the  empire, 
and  the  Turks  set  up  their  capital  at  Adrianople, 
whence  they  spread  their  conquests  up  to  the  very 
Avails  of  Constantinople  ;  but  the  Greek  mountain- 
eers, especially  those  of  the  mountain  land  of  Epirus, 
now  called  Albania,  had  something  of  the  old  spirit 
among  them,  and  fought  hard.  The  Venetians 
used  to  take  troops  of  them  into  their  pay,  since  all 
Christians  made  common  cause  against  the  Turks  ; 
and  these  soldiers,  richly  armed,  with  white  Alba- 
nian kilts,  the  remnant  of  the  old  Greek  tunic,  were 


396  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

called  Stradiots,  from  the  old  Greek  word  for  a 
soldier,  Stratiotes.  The  bravest  of  them  all  was 
George  Castriotes,  a  young  Albanian,  who  had 
been  given  as  a  hostage  to  the  Mahommedans  when 
nine  }^ears  old.  He  had  been  kept  a  prisoner,  and 
made  to  fight  in   the    Turkish  army,  and  was  so 


MOUNT  HELICON. 


brave  there  that  the  Turks  called  him  Skanderbeg. 
or  the  Lord  Alexander.  However,  when  he  thought 
of  the  horror  of  being  a  Mahommedan,  and  fighting 
against  the  Christian  faith  and  his  own  country,  he 
fled  into  Albania,  raised  all   the  Greeks,  killed  all 


The  Frank   Conquest. 


397 


the  Turks  in  the  country,  and  kept  it  safe  from  all 
further  attempts  of  the  Sultan  as  long  as  he  lived' 
although,  at  Varna,  a  graat  crusade  of  all  the  mos* 
adventurous  spirits  in  Europe,  to  drive  back  th< 
Turks,  was  wofully  defeated  in  the  year  1446. 


CHAPTER    XLIL 

THE   TURKISH    CONQUEST. 

1453—1670. 

r  I  ^HE  last  Emperor  of  the  East  was  the  best  and 

-*■      bravest  who   had   reigned  for  many  years. 

Constantine   Palseologus   did  his   best  against  the 

Turks,  but  Mahommed  II.,  one  of  the  greatest  of 

the   Ottoman  race,  was   Sultan,   and   vowed   that 

Constantinople  should  be  either  his  throne  or  his 

tomb. 

When  the  besieged  Christians  heard  the  Turks 

outside   their  walls  chanting   their  prayers,   they 

knew  that  the  city  would  be  assaulted  the  next  day, 

and  late  at  night   Constantine   called   his  friends 

together,  and  said,  "  Though  my  heart  is  full,  I  can 

speak  to  you  no  longer.     There  is  the  crown  which 

I   hold  from    God.     I   place  it  in  your   hands;    I 

entrust  it  to  you.     I  fight  to  deserve  it  still,  or  to 

398 


The   Turkish   Conquest.  401 

die  in  defending  it."  They  wept  and  wailed  so 
that  he  had  to  wait  to  be  heard  again,  and  then  he 
said,  "  Comrades,  this  is  our  fairest  day; "  after 
which  they  all  went  to  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Sophia, 
and  received  the  Holy  Communion  together.  There 
was  a  crowd  around  as  he  came  out,  and  he  stood  be- 
fore them,  begging  them  to  pardon  him  for  not  having 
been  able  to  make  them  happier.  They  answered 
with  sobs  and  tears,  and  then  he  mounted  his  horse 
and  rode  round  the  defences. 

The  Turks  began  the  attack  in  the  early  morning, 
and  the  fight  raged  all  day;  but  they  were  the 
most  numerous,  and  kept  thronging  into  the  breach, 
so  that,  though  Constantine  fought  like  a  lion  at 
bay,  he  could  not  save  the  place,  and  the  last  time 
his  voice  was  heard  it  was  .crying  out,  "  Is  there  no 
Christian  who  will  cut  off  my  head?"  The  Turks 
pressed  in  on  all  sides,  cut  down  the  Christians, 
won  street  after  street,  house  after  house ;  and 
when  at  last  Mahommed  rode  up  to  the  palace 
where  Roman  emperors  had  reigned  for  1100  years, 
he  was  so  much  struck  with  the  desolation  that  he 
repeated  a  verse  of  Persian  poetry-^ 

"  The  spider  hath  woven  her  web  in  the  palace  of  kings, 
The  owl  hath  sung  her  watch-song  in  the  towers  of  Afra- 
siab." 


402  Young  Folks*  History  of  Greece. 

Search  was  made  for  the  body  of  Constantine,  and 
it  was  found  under  a  heap  of  slain,  sword  in  hand, 
and  so  much  disfigured  that  it  was  only  known  by 
the  golden  eagles  worked  on  his  buskins.  The 
whole  city  fell  under  the  Turks,  and  the  nobles  and 
princes  in  the  mountains  of  the  Morea  likewise 
owned  Mahommed  as  their  sovereign.  Only 
Albana  held  out  as  long  as  the  brave  Skanderbeg 
lived  to  guard  it ;  but  at  last,  in  14GG,  he  fell  ill  of 
a  fever,  and  finding  that  he  should  not  live,  he 
called  his  friends  and  took  leave  of  them,  talking 
over  the  toils  they  had  shared.  In  the  midst  there 
was  an  alarm  that  the  Turks  were  making  an  in- 
road, and  the  smoke  of  the  burning  villages  could 
be  seen.  George  called  for  his  armor,  and  tried  to 
rise,  but  he  was  too  weak,  so  he  bade  his  friends 
hasten  to  the  defence,  saying  he  should  soon  be  able 
to  follow.  When  the  Turks  saw  his  banner,  they 
thought  he  must  be  there,  and  fled,  losing  many 
men  in  the  narrow  mountain  roads ;  but  the  Greeks 
had  only  just  brought  back  the  news  of  their 
success,  when  their  great  leader  died.  His  horse 
loved  him  so  much  that  it  would  not  allow  itself  to 
be  touched  by  any  other  person,  became  wild  and 
fierce,  and  died  in  a  few  weeks'  time.  The  Al- 
banians   could  not   hold    out   long   without   their 


The   Turkish   Conquest.  403 

gallant  chief;  and  when  the  Turks  took  Alyssio, 
the  body  of  Castriotes  was  taken  from  its  grave, 
and  the  bones  were  divided  among  his  enemies,  who 
wore  them  as  charms  in  cases  of  gold  and  silver, 
fancying  they  would  thus  gain  a  share  of  his 
bravery. 

The  Turkish  empire  thus  included  all  Greece  on 
the  mainland,  but  the  Greeks  were  never  really 
subdued.  On  all  the  steep  hills  were  castles  or 
convents,  which  the  Turks  were  unable  to  take ; 
and  though  there  were  Turkish  Beys  and  Pashas, 
with  soldiers  placed  in  the  towns  to  overawe  the 
people,  and  squeeze  out  a  tribute,  and  a  great  deal 
more  besides,  from  the  Greek  tradesmen  and 
farmers,  the  main  body  of  the  people  still  remem- 
bered they  were  Greeks  and  Christians.  Each 
village  had  its  own  church  and  priest,  each  diocese 
its  bishop,  all  subject  to  the  Patriarchs  of  Constan- 
tinople; and  the  Sultans,  knowing  what  power 
these  had  over  the  minds  of  the  people,  kept  them 
always  closely  watched,  often  imprisoned  them, 
and  sometimes  put  them  to  death.  The  islands  for 
the  most  part  were  still  under  Venice,  and  some  of 
the  braver-spirited  young  men  became  Stradiots  in 
the  Venetian  service  ;  but  too  many  only  went  off 
into  the  mountains,  and  became  robbers  and  out- 


404  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

laws  there,  while  those  who  lived  a  peaceable  life 
gave  way  under  their  miseries  to  the  two  greatest 
faults  there  had  always  been  in  the  Greek  nature, 
namely,  cheating  and  lying.  They  were  so  sharp 
and  clever  that  the  dull  Turks  were  forced  to 
employ  them,  so  that  they  grew  rich  fast ;  and  then, 
as  soon  as  the  Pasha  suspected  them  of  having 
wealth,  however  poor  they  seemed  to  be,  he  would 
seize  them,  rob  them,  or  kill  them  to  get  their 
money ;  and,  what  was  worse,  their  daughters  were 
taken  away  to  be  slaves  or  wives  to  the  Mahomme- 
dans.  The  clergy  could  get  little  teaching,  and 
grew  as  rude  and  ignorant  as  their  flocks ;  for 
though  the  writings  of  the  great  teachers  of  the 
early  Church  were  laid  up  in  the  libraries  in  the 
convents,  nobody  ever  touched  them.  But  just  as, 
after  the  Macedonian  conquest  of  old  Greece,  the 
language  spread  all  over  the  East;  so,  after  the 
Turkish  conquest  of  Constantinople,  Greek  became 
much  better  known  in  Europe,  for  many  learned 
men  of  the  schools  of  Constantinople  took  refuge 
in  Italy,  bringing  their  books  with  them;  the 
scholars  eagerly  learned  Greek,  and  the  works  of 
Homer  and  of  the  great  old  Greek  tragedians 
became  more  and  more  known,  and  were  made 
part  of  a  learned  education.     The  Greeks  at  home 


The  Turkish  Conquest,  405 

still  spoke  the  old  tongue,  though  it  had  become  as 
much  altered  from  that  of  Athens  and  Sparta  as 
Italian  is  from  Latin. 

The  most  prosperous  time  of  all  the  Turkish 
power  was  under  Solyman  the  Magnificent,  who 
spread  his  empire  from  the  borders  of  Hungary  to 
those  of  Persia,  and  held  in  truth  nearly  the  same 
empire  as  Alexander  the  Great.  He  conquered  the 
island  of  Rhodes,  on  the  Christmas-day  of  1522, 
from  the  Knights  of  St.  John,  who  were  Frankish 
monks  sworn  to  fight  against  the  Mahommedans. 
Cyprus  belonged  to  the  Venetians,  and  in  1571  a 
Jew,  who  had  renounced  his  faith,  persuaded  Sul- 
tan Selim  to  have  it  attacked,  that  he  might  gain 
his  favorite  Cyprus  wine  for  the  pressing,  instead 
of  buying  it.  The  Venetian  stores  of  gunpowder 
had  been  blown  up  by  an  accident,  and  they  could 
not  send  help  in  time  to  the  unfortunate  governor, 
who  was  made  prisoner,  and  treated  with  most 
savage  cruelty.  However,  fifty  years  later,  in  1571, 
the  powers  of  Europe  joined  together  under  Don 
John  of  Austria,  the  brother  of  the  king  of  Spain, 
and  beat  the  Turks  in  a  great  sea-fight  at  Lepanto, 
breaking  their  strength  for  many  years  after ;  but 
the  king,  Philip  II.  (husband  of  Mary  I.  of  England), 


406  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

was  jealous  of  his  brother,  and  called  him  home, 
and  after  that  the  Venetians  were  obliged  to  make 
peace,  and  give  up  Cyprus.  The  misfortune  was 
that  the  Greeks  and  Latins  hated  each  other  so 
much  that  they  never  would  make  common  cause 
heartily  against  the  Turks,  and  the  Greeks  did  not 


like  to  be  under  Venetian  protection  j  but  Venice 
kept  Crete,  or  Candia,  as  it  was  now  called,  till 
1670,  when  the  Turks  took  it,  after  a  long  and 
terrible  siege,  lasting  more  than  two  years,  during 
which  the  bravest  and  most  dashing  gentlemen  of 


The    Turkish    Conquest. 


407 


France  made  a  wild  expedition  to  help  the  Christian 
cause.  But  all  was  in  vain  ;  Candia  fell,  and  most 
of  the  little  isles  in  the  Archipelago  came  one  by 
one  under  the  cruel  power  of  the  Turks. 


CHAPTER    XLIII. 

THE    VENETIAN   CONQUEST   AND   LOSS. 
1684—1796. 

AGAIN  there  was  a  time  of  deliverance  for 
Greece.  The  Turks  had  had  a  great  defeat 
before  Vienna,  and  in  their  weak  state  the  Vene- 
tians made  another  attack  on  them,  and  appointed 
Francis  Morosini  commander  of  the  fleet  and  army. 
He  took  the  little  Ionian  isle  of  Sta  Maura,  and 
two  Albanian  towns ;  and  many  brave  young  men, 
who  had  read  of  the  glories  of  ancient  Greece  in 
the  course  of  their  studies,  came  from  all  parts  of 
Europe  to  fight  for  her.  The  governor,  or  Seraskin, 
was  obliged  to  retreat,  and  the  Mainots,  as  the 
Greeks  of  the  Morea  were  called,  rose  and  joined 
him.  Corinth,  which  was  as  valuable  as  ever  as 
the  door  of  the  peninsula,  was  taken,  and  nothing 
in  the  Morea  remained    Turkish  but   the   city  of 

408 


The    Venetian   Conquest  and  Loss.         409 

Malvasia.  Morosini  threw  his  men  into  Lepanto, 
Patras,  and  pushed  on  to  Athens ;  but  there  they 
had  six  days'  fighting,  during  which  more  harm  was 
done  to  the  beautiful  old  buildings  and  sculptures 
than  had  befallen  them  in  nearly  two  thousand 
years  of  decay.  The  Turks  had  shut  themselves 
up  in  the  Acropolis,  and  made  a  powder  magazine 
of  the  Parthenon.  A  shell  from  Morosini' s  bat- 
teries fell  into  it,  and  blew  up  the  roof,  which  had 
remained  perfect  all  these  years,  and  much  more 
damage  was  done;  but  the  city  was  won  at  last, 
and  the  Venetians  were  so  much  delighted  that 
they  chose  Morosini  Doge,  and  bestowed  on  him 
the  surname  of  Peloponesiacus  in  honor  of  his  vic- 
tory. He  sent  home  a  great  many  precious  spoils, 
in  the  way  of  old  sculptures,  to  Venice  —  in  es- 
pecial two  enormous  marble  lions  which  used  to 
guard  the  gate  of  the  Piraeus,  but  which  now  stand 
on  either  side  of  the  Arsenal  at  Venice. 

Then  he  laid  siege  to  Negropont,  the  chief  city 
of  the  old  isle  of  Eubcea ;  but  the  plague  broke  out 
in  his  camp,  and  weakened  his  troops  so  much  that 
they  were  defeated  and  forced  to  give  up  the  at- 
tempt. Illness  too,  liindered  him  from  taking 
Malvasia ;  his  health  was  broken,  and  he  died  soon 
after  his  return  to  Venice.     Four  great  and  bloody 


410  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece, 

sea-fights  took  place  during  the  next  few  years, 
and  in  one  the  Turks  had  the  victory,  in  the  others 
it  was  doubtful ;  but  when  peace  was  made,  in  the 
year  1699,  the  Morea  was  yielded  to  the  Venetians, 
and  they  put  a  line  of  forts  across  the  Isthmus  to 
secure  it,  as  in  old  times.  But  the  Venetian  Re- 
public had  lost  a  great  deal  of  strength  and  spirit, 
and  when,  in  a  few  years  later,  the  Sultan  began  to 
prepare  to  take  back  what  he  had  lost,  the  Doge 
and  Senate  paid  little  attention  to  his  doings  ;  so 
that,  when  100,000  Turks,  with  the  Grand  Vizier, 
sailed  against  the  Morea,  besides  a  fleet  of  100 
ships,  the  Venetian  commander  there  had  only 
8000  men  and  19  ships.  The  Venetians  were  hope- 
less, and  yielded  Corinth  after  only  four  days'  siege  ; 
and  though  safety  had  been  promised  to  the  inhab- 
itants, they  were  cruelly  massacred,  and  the  same 
happened  in  place  after  place  till  the  Avhole  Morea 
was  conquered,  and  the  Venetians  took  ship  and 
left  the  unhappy  Greeks  to  their  fate,  which  was 
worse  than  ever,  since  they  were  now  treated  as 
rebels. 

Several  of  the  Ionian  islands  on  the  west  side  of 
Greece  were  seized  by  the  Turks ;  but  Corfu,  the 
old  Corcyra,  held  out  most  bravely,  the  priests, 
women,  and  all   fighting  most   desperately  as  the 


The    Venetian   Conquest  and  Loss.         411 

Turks  stormed  the  walls  of  their  city ;  stones,  iron 
crosses,  everything  that  came  to  hand,  were  hurled 
down  on  the  heads  of  the  enemy  ;  but  the  ramparts 
had  been  won,  and  thirty  standards  planted  on  the 
walls,  when  the  Saxon  general  Schulenberg,  who 
was  commanding  the  Venetians,  sallied  out  with 
800  men,  and  charged  the  Turks  in  their  rear,  so 
that  those  on  the  walls  hurried  back  to  defend  their 
camp.  At  night  a  great  storm  swept  away  the 
tents,  and  in  the  morning  a  Spanish  fleet  came  to 
the  aid  of  the  island.  The  Turks  were  so  much 
disheartened  that  they  embarked  as  quietly  as  pos- 
sible in  the  night ;  and  when  the  besieged  garrison 
looked  forth  in  the  morning,  in  surprise  at  every- 
thing being  so  still  and  quiet,  they  found  the  whole 
place  deserted  —  stores  of  powder  and  food,  cannon, 
wounded  men  and  all.  Corfu  has  thus  never  fallen 
under  Turkish  power,  for  in  the  next  year,  1717,  a 
a  peace  was  made,  in  which,  though  Venice  gave 
up  all  claim  to  the  Morea,  she  kept  the  seven 
Ionian  islands,  and  they  continued  under  her  power 
as  long  as  she  remained  a  free  and  independent 
city  —  that  is  to  say,  till  1796,  when  she  was  con- 
quered by  the  French,  and  given  for  a  time  to 
Austria.    v 


412  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

The  state  of  poor  Greece  was  dreadful,  The 
nobles  lived  in  fortresses  upon  the  rocks,  and  the 
monks  in  their  fastnesses  ;  but  the  villages,  towns, 
and  coasts  were  worse  off  than  ever,  for  the  Turks 
treated  them  as  rebels,  and  savagely  oppressed  and 
misused  them.  Nor  were  they  united  among  them- 
selves, for  the  families  who  dwelt  in  the  hills  were 
often  at  deadly  feud  with  each  other  ;  the  men  shot 
each  other  down  if  they  met ;  and  it  ended  in  whole 
families  of  men  living  entirely  within  their  castle 
walls,  and  never  going  out  except  armed  to  the 
teeth  on  purpose  to  fight,  while  all  the  business  of 
life  was  carried  on  by  the  women,  whom  no  one 
on  either  side  attempted  to  hurt.  The  beautiful 
buildings  in  the  cities  were  going  to  decay  faster 
than  ever,  in  especial  the  Parthenon.  When  it  had 
lost  its  roof  it  was  of  no  further  use  as  a  storehouse, 
so  it  was  only  looked  on  as  a  mine  of  white  marble, 
and  was  broken  clown  on  all  sides.  The  English 
Earl  of  Elgin  obtained  leave  from  the  Turkish  gov- 
ernment to  carry  away  those  carvings  from  it  which 
are  now  in  the  British  Museum,  and  only  one  row 
of  beautiful  pillars  from  the  portico  of  the  Temple 
has  been  left  standing. 

As  the  Russians  had  been  converted  to  Chris- 


The    Venetian   Conquest  and  Loss.  413 

tianity  by  the  clergy  of  Constantinople,  and  be- 
longed to  the  same  Church,  the  Greeks  naturally 
looked  most  there  for  help  ;  but  they  were  not  well 
treated  by  the  great  empire,  which  seemed  to  think 
the  chief  use  of  them  was  to  harass  the  Turks,  and 
keep  them  from  attacking  Russia.  Thus,  in  1770, 
the  Russians  sent  2000  men  to  encourage  a  rising 
of  the  Mainots  in  the  Morea,  but  not  enough  to 
help  them  to  make  a  real  resistance ;  and  the 
Greeks,  when  they  had  a  little  advantage,  were  al- 
ways so  horridly  cruel  in  their  revenge  on  their 
Turkish  prisoners  as  to  disgrace  the  Christian 
name,  and  to  provoke  a  return.  In  1790,  again, 
the  Suliot  Greeks  of  Albania  sent  to  invite  Con- 
stantine,  the  brother  of  the  Czar  of  Russia,  to  be 
king  of  Greece,  and  arranged  a  rising,  but  only 
misery  came  of  it.  The  Russians  only  sent  a  little 
money,  encouraged  them  to  rise,  and  then  left  them 
to  their  fate.  The  Turkish  chief,  All  Pasha,  who 
in  his  little  city  of  Yanina  had  almost  become  a 
king  independent  of  the  Sultan,  hunted  them 
down ;  and  the  Suliots,  taking  refuge  among  the 
rocks,  fought  to  the  death,  and  killed  far  more  than 
their  own  number.  In  one  case  the  Turks  sur- 
prised a  wedding-party,  which  retreated  to  a  rock 


414  Young  Folks    History  of  Greece. 

with  a  precipice  behind.  Here  the  women  waited 
and  watched  till  all  the  men  had  been  slain,  and 
then  let  themselves  be  driven  over  the  precipice 
rather  than  be  taken  by  the  Turks. 


r\$ 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

THE  WAR   OE  INDEPENDENCE. 
1815. 

IN  all  their  troubles  the  Greeks  never  quite  lost 
heart.  The  merchants  who  had  thriven  in 
trade  sent  their  sons  to  be  educated  in  France, 
Russia,  and  Germany,  and  these  learned  to  think 
much  of  the  great  old  deeds  of  their  forefathers,  and 
they  formed  a  secret  society  among  themselves, 
called  the  Hetaira,  which  in  time  the- princes  and 
nobles  of  the  Peloponnesus  joined ;  so  that  they  felt 
that  if  they  only  were  so  united  and  resolute  as  to 
make  some  Christian  power  think  it  worth  while  to 
take  up  their  cause  in  earnest,  they  really  might 
shake  off  the  Turkish  yoke. 

In  1820,  Ali  Pasha,  the  governor  of  Albania,  re- 
belled, and  shut  himself  up  in  the  town  of  Yanina, 
stirring  up  the  Greeks  to  begin  fighting  on  their 

415 


416  Young  Folks1  History  of  Greece. 

own  account,  so  as  to  prevent  the  Sultan  from  using 
all  his  power  to  crush  him.  So  the  Greeks  began, 
under  Prince  Ipsilanti,  who  had  served  in  the 
Russian  army,  to  march  into  the  provinces  on  the 
Danube ;  but  they  were  not  helped  by  the  Russians, 
and  were  defeated  by  the  Turks.  Ipsilanti  fled  into 
Austria;  but  another  leader,  called  George  the 
Olympian,  lived  a  wild,  outlaw  life  for  some  years 
longer,  but  as  he  had  no  rank  the  Greeks  were  too 
proud  to  join  him.  At  last  he  shut  himself  up  in 
the  old  convent  of  Secka,  and  held  it  out  against 
the  Turks  for  thirty-six  hours,  until,  finding  that 
he  could  defend  it  no  longer,  he  put  a  match  to  the 
powder,  and  blew  himself  and  his  men  up  in  it 
rather  than  surrender. 

But  the  next  year  there  was  another  rising  all 
over  Greece.  The  peasants  of  Attica  drove  the 
Turkish  garrison  out  of  all  Athens  but  the  Acropo- 
lis ;  the  Suliots  rose  again,  with  secret  encourage- 
ment from  Ali  Pasha,  and  hope  seemed  coming 
back.  But  when  Omar  Pasha  had  been  sent  from 
Constantinople  with  4000  Turkish  troops,  he  found 
it  only  too  easy  to  rout  700  Greeks  at  Thermopylae, 
and,  advancing  into  Attica,  he  drove  back  the 
peasants,  and  relieved  the  Turkish  garrison  in  the 
Acropolis,  which  had  been  besieged  for  eighty-three 


The   War  of  Independence.  417 

d<\ys ;  but  no  sooner  had  he  left  the  place  than  the 
brave  peasants  returned  to  the  siege. 

The  worst  of  the  Greeks  was  that  they  were  very 
cruel  and  treacherous,  and  had  very  little  notion  of 
truth  or  honor,  for  people  who  have  been  long 
ground  down  are  apt  to  learn  the  vices  of  slaves ; 
and  when  the  Turks  slaughtered  the  men,  burnt 
the  villages,  and  carried  off  the  women,  they  were 
ready  to  return  their  savage  deeds  with  the  like 
ferocity,  and  often  with  more  cunning  than  the 
Turks  could  show;  and  this  made  the  European 
nations  slow  of  helping  them.  In  this  year,  1821, 
a  Greek  captain  plotted  to  set  fire  to  the  arsenal  at 
Constantinople,  murder  the  Sultan  in  the  confusion, 
and  begin  a  great  revolt  of  all  the  Greeks  living  at 
Constantinople.  The  plot  was  found  out,  and 
terribly  visited,  for  thousands  of  Christian  families, 
who  had  never  even  heard  of  it,  were  slain  in  their 
houses,  and  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  an 
aged  man,  whom  everyone  loved  and  respected, 
was  also'  put  to  death.  Not  only  were  the  Chris- 
tians massacred  at  Constantinople,  but  in  most  of 
the  other  large  cities  of  Turkey,  and  only  in  a  few 
were  the  people  able  to  escape  on  board  the  Greek 
merchant  ships.  These  ships  carried  ten  or  twelve 
guns,  were  small,   swift,   and  well  managed,  and 


418  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

little  fire-ships  were  sometimes  sent  by  them  into 
the  Turkish  fleet,  which  did  a  great  deal  of  dam- 
age. 

The  slaughter  of  so  many  Christians  had  only 
enraged  instead  of  terrifying  the  others ;  and  a 
Greek  prince  named  Mavrocordato  brought  an  army 
together,  which  took  several  cities,  but  unhappily 
was  as  cruel  as  the  Turks  themselves  in  their  treat- 
ment of  the  conquered.  However,  they  now  held 
Argos,  met  there,  and  made  Mavrocordato  their 
President  in  1822.  Ali  Pasha  of  Yanina  was  re- 
duced and  shot  by  the  Turks  that  same  year ;  and 
Omar  Pasha,  who  had  been  sent  against  him,  had  a 
great  deal  of  desperate  fighting  with  the  Suliots  and 
other  Albanian  Greeks,  but  at  last  he  was  driven 
back  through  the  mountains  with  terrible  loss. 

Another  horrid  deed  of  the  Turks  did  much  to 
turn  men's  minds  against  them.  There  were  about 
120,000  Christians  in  the  island  of  Scio,  who  had 
taken  no  part  in  the  war,  and  only  prayed  to  be  let 
alone ;  but  two  Greek  captains  chose  to  make  an 
attack  on  the  Turkish  garrison,  and  thus  provoked 
the  vengeance  of  the  Turks,  who  burst  in  full  force 
on  the  unhappy  island,  killed  every  creature  they 
found  in  the  capital,  and  ravaged  it  everywhere. 
Forty   thousand  were   carried   off  as   slaves,   and 


The    War  of  Independence.  419 

almost  all  the  rest  killed ;  and  when  these  horrors 
were  over,  only  1800  were  left  in  the  place. 

The  cruelty  of  the  Turks  and  the  constancy  of 
the  Greeks  began  to  make  all  Europe  take  an 
interest  in  the  war.  People  began  to  think  them  a 
race  of  heroes  like  those  of  old,  and  parties  of 
young  men,  calling  themselves  Philhellenes,  or 
lovers  of  Greece,  came  to  fight  in  their  cause.  The 
chief  of  these  was  the  English  poet,  Lord  Byron ; 
but  he,  as  well  as  most  of  the  others,  found  it  was 
much  easier  to  admire  the  Greeks  when  at  a 
distance,  for  a  war  like  this  almost  always  makes 
men  little  better  than  treacherous  savage  robbers  in 
their  ways ;  and  they  were  all  so  jealous  of  one 
another  that  there  was  no  obedience  to  any  kind 
of  government,  nor  any  discipline  in  their  armies. 
Byron  soon  said  he  was  a  fool  to  have  come  to 
Greece,  and  before  he  could  do  anything  he  died 
at  Missolonghi,  in  the  year  1824.  But  though  the 
Greeks  fought  in  strange  ways  of  their  own,  they 
at  least  won  respect  and  interest  by  their  untam- 
ableness,  and  though  Missolonghi  was  taken,  it  was 
only  after  a  most  glorious  resistance.  When  the 
defenders  could  hold  out  no  longer,  they  resolved 
to  cut  their  way  through  the  Turks.  One  division 
of  them    were    deceived  by   a    false   alarm,   and 


420  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

returned  to  the  town,  where,  when  the  enemy 
entered  the  powder  magazine,  they  set  fire  to  it, 
and  blew  themselves  up,  together  with  the  Turks  ; 
the  others  escaped. 

Athens  was  taken  again  by  the  Turks,  all  but 
the  Acropolis;  but  the  nations  of  Europe  had 
begun  to  believe  in  the  Greeks  enough  to  advance 
them  a  large  sum  of  money,  which  was  called  the 
Greek  Loan  ;  and  the  English  admiral,  Lord  Coch- 
rane, and  an  English  soldier,  General  Church,  did 
them  much  good  by  making  up  the  quarrels  among 
their  own  princes,  for  actually,  in  the  midst  of  this 
desperate  Avar  with  the  Turks,  there  were  seven 
little  civil  wars  going  on  among  different  tribes  of 
Greeks  themselves.  General  Church  collected  them 
all,  and  fought  a  great  battle  in  the  plain  of  Athens 
with  the  Turkish  commander,  Ibrahim  Pasha,  but 
was  beaten  again;  the  Acropolis  was  taken,  and 
nothing  remained  to  the  Greek  patriots  but  the 
citadel  of  Corinth  and  Naupliae. 

However,  France,  Russia,  and  England  had  now 
resolved  to  interfere  on  behalf  of  the  Greeks,  and 
when  the  Sultan  refused  to  attend  to  them,  a  fleet, 
consisting  of  ships  belonging  to  the  three  nations, 
was  sent  into  the  Mediterranean.  They  meant  to 
treat  with  the   Turks,  but  the  Turks  and  Greeks 


The    War  of  Independence.  421 

thought  they  meant  to  fight,  and  in  the  bay  of  Nav- 
arino  a  battle  began,  which  ended  in  the  utter  de- 
struction of  the  Turkish  fleet.  Out  of  120  ships, 
only  20  or  30  were  left,  and  6000  men  were  slain. 
This  was  on  the  20th  of  October,  1827,  and  the 
terrible  loss  convinced  Ibrahim  Pasha  that  no 
further  attempt  to  keep  the  Morea  was  of  any  use, 
so  he  sailed  away  to  Egypt,  of  which  his  father  was 
then  Viceroy  for  the  Sultan,  but  which  he  and  his 
son  have  since  made  into  a  separate  kingdom.  It 
was  in  October,  1828,  that  the  Peloponnesus  thus 
shook  off  the  Turkish  yoke. 

It  was  thought  best  that  a  French  army  should 
be  sent  to  hold  the  chief  fortresses  in  the  Morea, 
because  the  Greeks  quarreled  so  among  themselves. 
In  the  meantime  General  Church  went  on  driving 
the  Turks  back  into  the  northern  parts  of  Greece, 
and  Count  Capo  dTstria  was  chosen  President,  but 
he  did  not  manage  well,  and  gave  the  command  of 
Western  Greece  to  his  own  dull  brother,  taking  it 
away  from  General  Church.  It  seemed  as  if  the 
Greeks  would  not  know  how  to  use  their  freedom 
now  they  had  gained  it,  for  the  Council  and  the 
President  were  always  quarreling,  and  being  jealous 
of  each  other ;  and  there  was  falsehood,  robbery, 


422  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece, 

treachery,  and  assassination  everywhere.  And  yet 
everyone  hoped  that  the  race  that  had  stood  so 
bravely  all  these  years  would  improve  now  it  was 
free. 


CHAPTER    XLV. 

THE   KINGDOM   OF   GREECE. 

1322— 1875. 

THE  European  powers  who  had  taken  the  little 
nation  of  Greeks  in  charge,  finding  that,  as 
a  republic  with  a  president,  they  did  nothing  but 
dispute  and  fight,  insisted  that  the  country  should 
have  a  king,  and  should  govern  by  the  help  of  a 
parliament. 

But  the  difficulty  was  that  nobody  had  any  claim 
to  be  king,  and  the  Greeks  were  all  so  jealous  of 
each  other  that  there  was  no  chance  of  their  sub- 
mitting to  one  of  themselves.  The  only  royal 
family  belonging  to  their  branch  of  the  Church 
were  the  Russians ;  and  France,  England,  Austria, 
and  all  the  rest  were  afraid  of  letting  the  great 
Russian  power  get  such  a  hold  on  the  Mediterra- 
nean Sea  as  would  come  of  Greece  being  held  by 
one  of  the  brothers  or  sons  of  the  Czar. 

423 


424  Young  Folks'  History  cf  Greece. 

The  first  choice  was  very  wise,  for  it  was  of  one 
of  the  fittest  men  in  Europe,  Prince  Leopold  of 
Saxe  Coburg ;  and  he  accepted  their  offer  at  first, 
but  when  he  had  had  time  to  hear  more  in  letters 
from  Count  Capo  d'Istrias,  and  found  what  a  dread- 
ful state  the  country  was  in,  and  how  little  notion 
the  people  had  of  truth,  honor,  or  obedience,  he 
thought  he  should  be  able  to  do  nothing  with  them, 
and  refused  to  come  to  Greece.  In  the-  meantime 
the  Greeks  went  on  worse  than  ever.  Capo  d'ls- 
trias  was  murdered  by  the  son  and  brother  of  a 
chief  whom  he  had  imprisoned ;  and  two  bodies  of 
men  met,  each  calling  itself  a  National  Assembly 
—  one  at  Argos,  the  other  at  Megara  —  and  there 
was  a  regular  civil  war,  during  which  the  poor 
peasants  had  to  hide  in  the  woods  and  caves. 

At  last,  in  1832,  the  second  son  of  the  king  of 
Bavaria,  Otho,  a  lad  of  seventeen,  was  chosen  king 
by  a  conference  in  London  which  was  settling  the 
affairs  of  Greece.  He  was  sent  with  a  council  to 
rule  for  him  till  he  should  be  of  age,  and  with  a 
guard  of  Bavarian  soldiers,  while  the  French  troops 
were  sent  home  again ;  but  the  Ionian  islands  re- 
mained under  the  British  protection,  and  had  an 
English  Lord  High  Commissioner,  and  garrisons  of 
English  troops. 


The  Kingdom  of  Greece.  425 

Otho  had  been  chosen  so  young  that  there  might 
be  the  better  chance  of  his  becoming  one  with  his 
subjects,  but  he  turned  out  very  dull  and  heavy, 
and  caused  discontent,  because  he  gave  all  the 
offices  he  could  dispose  of  to  his  German  friends 
rather  than  to  Greeks,  which  perhaps  was  the  less 
wonderful  that  it  was  very  hard  to  find  a  Greek 
who  could  be  trusted.  At  last,  in  1843,  the  people 
rose  upon  him,  forced  him  to  send  away  all  his 
Bavarians,  and  to  have  Greek  ministers  to  manage 
the  government,  who  should  be  removed  at  the 
will  of  the  people. 

His  capital  was  at  Athens,  and  as  everyone 
wished  to  see  the  places  which  had  been  made 
glorious  by  the  great  men  of  old  Greece,  there  was 
such  a  resort  of  travelers  thither  as  soon  to  make 
the  town  flourish ;  but  the  Government  was  so 
weak,  and  the  whole  people  so  used  to  a  wild,  out- 
law life,  that  the  country  still  swarms  everywhere 
with  robbers,  whom  the  peasants  shelter  and  be- 
friend in  spite  of  their  many  horrid  crimes. 

When  the  English  and  French  nations,  in  the 
year  1853,  took  up  the  cause  of  Turkey  against  Rus- 
sia, the  Greeks  much  longed  to  have  fought  against 
their  old  enemies ;  but  the  two  allied  nations  sent 
a  strong  guard  to  Athens,  and  kept  them  down. 


426  Young  Folks'  History  of  Greece. 

Otho  had  no  children,  and  time  did  not  draw  him 
and  his  people  nearer  together ;  and  after  a  reign 
of  about  thirty  years,  it  was  plain  that  the  experi- 
ment had  not  succeeded.  He  resigned,  and  went 
home  to  end  his  days  in  Bavaria. 

The  Greek  crown  was  offered  to  several  more 
princes,  who  refused  it,  until  George,  the  second 
son  of  the  king  of  Denmark,  accepted  it  in  the 
year  1868.  At  the  same  time  the  Ionian  islands 
were  made  over  by  the  English  Government  to  the 
crown  of  Greece,  and  the  British  troops  withdrawn. 
One  of  the  first  things  that  happened  in  King 
George's  time  was  the  murder  of  three  EnglLh 
gentlemen  —  Mr.  Herbert,  Mr.  Lloyd,  and  Mr. 
Vyner — who  had  gone  with  a  party  to  see  the 
plain  of  Marathon.  A  gang  of  robbers  came  and 
seized  upon  them  and  carried  them  off  to  the  hills, 
demanding  a  ransom.  Lady  Muncaster,  who  was 
of  the  party,  was  allowed  to  return  to  Athens 
with  her  husband,  the  robbers  intending  that  the 
ransom  should  be  collected ;  but  troops  were  sent 
out  to  rescue  the  prisoners,  and  in  rage  and  disap- 
pointment the  robbers  shot  them  all  three.  The 
robbers  were  captured  and  put  to  death,  and  the 
young  king  was  bitterly  grieved  at  not  having  been 
able  to  prevent  these  horrors. 


The  Kingdom  of  Greece.  427 

Schools  are  doing  what  they  can,  and  the  Greeks 
are  very  quick-witted,  and  learn  easily.  They  are 
excellent  sailors,  clever  merchants,  and  ready  lin- 
guists, and  get  on  and  prosper  very  fast ;  but  till 
they  learn  truth,  honesty,  and  mercy,  and  can  clear 
their  country  of  robbers,  it  does  not  seem  as  if  any- 
thing could  go  really  well  with  their  kingdom,  or 
as  if  it  could  make  itself  be  respected.  Yet  we 
must  recollect  that  the  old  Eastern  Empire,  under 
which  they  were  for  many  centuries,  did  not  teach 
much  uprightness  or  good  faith ;  and  that  since 
that  time  they  have  had  four  hundred  years  of 
desperate  fighting  for  their  homes  and  their  creed 
with  a  cruel  and  oppressive  enemy,  and  that 
they  deserve  honor  for  their  constancy  even  to  the 
death.  Let  us  hope  they  will  learn  all  other  vir- 
tues in  time. 


WIIAT  TIIE  PAPERS  SAT  OF  WIDE  AWAKE. 

Wide  Awake  is  as  bright  as  though  every  page  were  a 
face,  and  every  fare  sparkled  with  the  eyes  of  dai.-ies.  Ic 
costs  only  two  dollars  a  year,  post  paid,  and  should  be  made 
to  gladden  the  heart  of  childhood  everywhere.—  Cleveland 
Plain  Dealer 

We  heartily  wish  it  "God  speed"  in  its  mission  of  health- 
ful instruction  and  pleasure,  to  the  hearths  and  homes 
throughout  our  land.  —  Boston  Cultivator. 

Every  wide-awake  girl  and  boy  in  the  land  should  subscribe 
to  this  beautiful  magazine. — Gazette,  Boston. 

If  the  rising  generation  proves  not  to  be  exceptionally  lit- 
erary, it  will  not  be  the  fault  of  our  publishers.  Another 
magazine,  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  young,  has  just 
been  established  by  D.  Lothrop  &  Co.,  of  this  city.  It  bears 
the  "taking"  name  of  Wide  Awake,  and  is  edited  by 
Miss  Ella  Farman,  an  accomplished  young  author.  The 
first  two  numbers  are  full  of  promise  in  text  and  illustra- 
tions, and  the  publishers  will  spare  no  pains  to  enhance  its 
attractions.  The  list  of  contributors  contains  the  names  of 
many  of  the  most  successful  writers  for  children  in  England 
and  America, — names  which  are  a  guaranty  of  wholesome,  as 
well  as  pleasant  and  instructive  reading.  The  Wide  Awake 
is  published  monthly,  at  the  low  price  of  two  dollars  per 
year,  by  D.  Lothrop  &  Co.,  3S  and  40  Cornhill,  Boston.— 
The  Literary  World. 

Our  opinion  of  the  new  candidate  for  popular  juvenile 
favor  is  very  high.  —  Cincinnati  Times. 

Wide  Awake  is  a  juvenile  magazine.  The  contents  are 
by  well-known  artists  and  authors.  The  stories  are  spirited, 
bright  and  humorous,  and  the  illustrations  are  always  excel- 
lent. Ella  Farman  edits  this  charming  magazine,  and  she 
seems  to  be  entirely  capable  of  understanding  the  wants  of 
the  boys  and  gills. — Philadelphia  City  Item. 


booics  eor  youitg  HEROES  J±2<rJD  brave 
WORKERS. 

VIRGINIA.     By  IV.  H.  G.Kingston.     16  mo. 

Illustrated $i  25 

A  stirring  story  of  adventure  upon  sea  and  land. 

AFRICAN  ADVENTURE  AND  ADVENT- 
URERS. By  Rev.  G.   T.  Day,  D.  D.     16 

mo.     Illustrated  .         .         .         .         -         .     1  50 

The  stories  of  Speke,  Grant,  Baker,  Livingstone  and  Stanley 
are  put  into  simple  shape  for  the  entertainment  of  young  readers. 

NOBLE  WORKERS.     Edited  by  6".  F  Smith, 

D.  D.     i6mo 1   50 

STORIES  OF  SUCCESS.-   Edited  by  S.  F 

Smith,  D.  D.     i6mo  .         .         .         .         .     1   50 

Inspiring  biographies  and  records  which  leave  a  most  whole- 
some and  enduring  effect  upon  the  reader. 

MYTHS  AND  HEROES.  16  mo.  Illus- 
trated.    Edited  by  S.  F.  Smith,  D.  D .         .     1   50 

KNIGHTS  AND  SEA   KINGS.     Edited  by 

S.  F.  Smith,  D.  D.     12 mo.     Illustrated       .     1  50 

Two  entertaining  books,  which  will  fasten  forever  the  historical 
and  geographical  lessons  of  the  school-room  firmly  in  the  stu- 
dent's mind. 

CHAPLIN'S  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  FRANK- 
LIN.    i6mo.     Illustrated    .         .         .         .     1  50 

LIFE  OF  AMOS  LAWRENCE.     i2mo.     111.     150 

Two  biographies  of  perennial  value.  No  worthier  books  were 
ever  offered  as  holiday  presents  for  our  American  young  men. 

WALTER   NEAL'S    EXAMPLE.      By  Rev. 

Theron  Brown.     16  mo.     Illustrated  .         .     1  25 

Walter  NeaPs  Example  is  by  Rev.  Theron  Brown,  the  editor  of 
that  very  successful  paper,  The  Youth'' s  Companion.  The  story 
is  a  touching  one,  and  i's  in  parts  so  vivid  as  to  seem  drawn  from 
the  life.  —  N.  Y.  Independent. 

TWO  FORTUNE-SEEKERS.  Stories  by 
Rossiter  Johnson,  Louise  Chandler  Moidton, 
E.  Stuart  Fhelps,  Ella  Farman,  etc.  Fully 
illustrated 1  50 


3VCXSS  CTTTIjI-A. -A..  ttJ^STHALJ^HT  is  one  of  the  most  populai 
of  our  modern  writers. 

YOUNG  RICK.    By  Julia  A.  Eastman.  Large 

i6mo.     Twelve  illustrations  by  Sol  Eytinge .  $i  50 

A  bright,  fascinating  story  of  a  little  boy  who  was  both'a  bless- 
ing rind  a  bother.  —  Boston  Journal. 

The  most  delightful  book  on  the  list  for  the  children  of  the 
family,  being  full  of  adventures  and  gay  home  scenes  and  merry 
play-times.  "Paty"  would  have  done  credit  to  Dickens  in  his 
palmiest  days.  The  strange  glows  and  shadows  of  her  character 
are  put  in  lovingly  and  lingeringly,  with  the  pencil  of  a  master. 
Miss  Margaret's  character  of  light  is  admirably  drawn,  while  Aunt 
Lesbia,  Deacon  Harkaway,  Tom  Dorrance,  and  the  master  and 
mistress  of  Graythorpe  poor-house  are  genuine  "charcoal 
sketches." 

STRIKING  FOR  THE  RIGHT.     By  Julia 

A.  Eastman.     Large  i6mo.     Illustrated       .     1  75 

While  this  story  holds  the  reader  breathless  with  expectancy 
and  excitement,  iis  civilizing  influence  ia  the  family  is  hardly  to 
be  estimated.     In  all  quarters  it  has  met  with  the  warmest  praise. 

THE  ROMNEYS   OF    RIDGEMONT.     By 

Julia  A.  Eastman.     i6mo.     Illustrated       .     1  50 

BEULAH  ROMNEY.     By  Julia  A.  Eastman. 

16  mo.     Illustrated 1  50 

Two  stories  wondrously  alive,  flashing  wiih  fun,  sparkling  with 
tears,  throbbing  with  emotion.  The  next  best  thing  to  attending 
Mrs.  Hale's  big  boarding-school  is  to  read  Beulah's  experience 
there. 

SHORT-COMINGS  AND  LONG-GOINGS. 

By  Julia  A.  Eastman.     16  mo.     Illustrated.     1  25 

A  rcmarkabls  book,  crowded  with  remarkable  characters.  It 
is  a  picture  gallery  of  human  nature. 

KITTY    KENT'S   TROUBLES.      By  Julia 

A.  Eastman.     16  mo.     Illustrated        .         .     1  50 

"A  delicious  April-day  style  of  book,  sunshiny  with  smiles  on 
one  page  while  the  next  is  misty  with  tender  tears.  Almost  every 
type  of  American  school -rirl  is  here  represented—  the  vr.in  Helen 
Dart,  the  beauty,  Amy  Searle,  the  ambuious,  high  bred,  conserv- 
ative Anna  Matson  ;  but  next  to  Kitty  herself  sunny  little  Paul- 
ine Sedgewick  will  prove  the  general  favorite.  It  is  a  story  fully 
calculated  to  win  both  girls  and  boys  toward  noble,  royal  ways  of 
doing  little  as  well  as  great  things.  All  teachers  should  feel  an 
interest  in  placing  it  in  the  hands  of  their  pupils." 


bPULAR  Hooks 


33  IT      "IP^ILTSY-5 


ESTER  REID, $1.50 

JULIA  REID, 1.50 

THREE  PEOPLE, 1.50 

THE  KING'S  DAUGHTER,      ....  1.50 

WISE  AND  OTHERWISE,  .  .  .  .1.50 

HOUSEHOLD  PUZZLES,  .  .  .  .  1.50 

THE  RANDOLPHS,  ...  .        1.50 

FOUR  GIRLS  AT  CHAUTAUQUA,     .  .  .  1.50 

CUNNING  WORKMEN, 1.25 

GRANDPA'S  DARLINGS,  .  1.25 

JESSIE  WELLS, 75 

DOCIA'S  JOURNAL .75 

BERNIE'S   WHITE   CHICKEN;   to   which  is  added, 

THE  DIAMOND  BRACELET,        .           .           .          .75 
HELEN  LESTER ;  to  which  is  added,  NANNIE'S  EX- 
PERIMENT.      75 

A  CHRISM  AS  TIME,      .  .  .  .  .15 


33-sr  "  :p.A.:tsrs"5r "  &c      nr.A.irz3  i-iTJ2srTi2sra-T02>r." 


MODERN  PROPHETS,         ....     $1.50 
DR.  DEANE'S  WAT,       .  .  .  .  1.25 


BY    "3T-A.-2-E    HTJ2srTI2STG-TOlT." 


THOSE  BOYS,  .  $1.50 

MRS.  DEANITS  WAT,    .  .  ,  .  1.25 

D,  L0THE0P  &  CO.,  Publishers. 


YB  303C3 


M69933      m^4 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  UBRARY 


